The University of Pittsburgh has ordered a hiring freeze for faculty and staff as it braces for continued federal funding uncertainty. The hiring freeze comes weeks after the school paused admissions to its Ph.D. programs.
In an email sent to staff Monday and obtained by WESA, Pitt leaders said the move was a “proactive” measure to “provide flexibility, strengthen our financial outlook and ensure that the University can continue to deliver on our mission.”
The hiring freeze took effect Monday and will remain in place through Pitt’s current fiscal year, which ends in June. Leaders said the freeze may be extended beyond that, “subject to an evaluation of our financial performance.”
The freeze is the latest step taken by the university as it manages a rapidly evolving outlook for financial aid from the federal government. A Pitt spokesperson said the move was required to ensure the school’s “financial stability,” in response to “a shifting federal landscape.”
“The university does not take these actions lightly, but as a leading [doctoral] research institution, we must strategically manage a range of financial pressures, including the evolving research funding landscape, inflationary costs, and the need to sustain our commitments to academic and research excellence,” said Jared Stonesifer, a spokesperson for Pitt.
Pitt also ordered expense reductions in all categories except compensation, as well as limits to nonessential travel and the purchase of discretionary supplies.
Research universities like Pitt have been grappling with the Trump administration’s plan for sweeping federal funding cuts that include a $4 billion reduction in spending by the National Institutes of Health on ancillary research expenses like building construction, lab maintenance and support staff. Pitt is the sixth largest recipient of NIH support in the country and could expect to lose roughly $115 million under the policy.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from imposing the cuts last week while multiple lawsuits against the NIH are ongoing.
The university stopped Ph.D. admissions offers late last month in another attempt to freeze spending while leaders sought to better understand the federal funding changes. A spokesperson pointed to the NIH spending cuts as the catalyst for the freeze and said it would remain in place “until the impacts of that cap were better understood.”
Days later Pitt announced it was in the “early stages” of resuming Ph.D. offers, but declined to elaborate on whether that meant offers were under consideration or actually being made. On Monday, Stonesifer said Pitt was still investigating how federal funding could impact Ph.D. offers.
"The University is working through alleviating the pause on admissions and financial aid offers for graduate students on appointments, in collaboration with the leadership within each Pittsburgh-campus school," he said.
In addition to Pitt, the University of Pennsylvania announced it would freeze hiring and review its capital spending Monday, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. A message obtained by the Inquirer similarly refers to the steps as “proactive financial measures.”
In its internal message, Pitt said all purchases larger than $25,000 would be subject to review by the school’s purchasing services department and “overall spending patterns” will be reviewed by the executive budget committee.
In a statement to WESA, Stonesifer said Pitt leaders are resolved to steady the ship as they understand how the federal funding landscape has changed.
“We acknowledge the last several weeks have created anxiety and uncertainty for the Pitt community, and we are determined to lean into the university’s mission, principles and values in an effort to chart a path forward,” he said. “We also continue to work very closely with Pennsylvania’s elected officials to advocate for our university community and ensure we can continue advancing our mission.”
