Rutgers Freezes Hiring, Cuts Pay to Weather Budget Woes
Rutgers Freezes Hiring, Cuts Leaders’ Pay to Weather Budget Woes
(Bloomberg) --
Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, plans to freeze hiring, cut the pay of about 100 senior administrators and halt new construction to contend with mounting losses spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
President Robert Barchi will immediately reduce his salary by 10% along with the athletic director and the head coaches for the football and basketball teams. Additional leaders will take a 5% reduction, according a statement issued Friday.
U.S. colleges are facing budget pressures as the pandemic has forced them to close and, in some cases, return student fees. Adding to the uncertainty is whether schools will be able to resume classes in the next academic year and, for state systems, the prospect that education funding will decline as governors grapple with large budget deficits.
Rutgers has identified the potential for an estimated $200 million loss in the current quarter and expects more losses in the next fiscal year, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based school said. Barchi is recommending no increase in tuition and fees for the school year beginning Sept. 1
“Rutgers will weather this storm, but our university -— and indeed all of higher education —- confronts perhaps the greatest academic and operational challenge in its history,” Barchi said in the statement. “Although much remains to be determined about the coming budget year, one thing is certain —- we cannot and will not close this gap on the backs of our students and their families.”
The school will also freeze new hiring and ban university-sponsored travel.
Barchi, who is to step down in July, was to be paid $927,735 for the year ended June 30, while the athletic director, Patrick Hobbs, was to receive $714,588, according to public records.
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