Hiring Freeze Affects WSU Students

Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd has enacted a hiring freeze affecting University staff as well as students seeking employment and those who are currently employed with the University.

President Floyd’s hiring freeze implemented in early April mirrors an announcement made in early August by Gov. Christine Gregoire. The governor announced that a statewide hiring freeze would be implemented in order to meet new budget demands.

Gregoire’s plan involves saving $200 million from the state budget, said Washington State University Executive Director of Budgeting and Planning Joan S. King. The plan includes ordering Washington state agencies and colleges to implement a hiring freeze while simultaneously reducing travel and equipment expenses.

Though the budget restrictions have not been specifically allocated to individual state agencies, Floyd implemented the freeze in order to slow down spending now in order to retain as much budget flexibility as possible in the future, said King. “The other way to say that is that hiring a person now could mean laying them off in a few months when we are advised of our budget cut,” said King.

The president wrote an e-mail to WSU chancellors and vice presidents in April explaining his decision to enact the freeze. According to Washington State University’s The Daily Evergreen, Floyd wrote in part, “Given an increasingly uncertain financial future for the state and the nation, it is my desire to slow significantly the pace of Administrative/Professional hiring within WSU.” Floyd further advised that the Budget Office should be consulted before filing vacant positions and awarding promotions or increases in salary.

King agrees with Floyd and said, “A hiring freeze is a good way to slow spending and to prepare us for the upcoming budget cut. I do consider it a prudent step, given the financial uncertainly for the state.”

As a result of the hiring freeze, WSU has limited its staff recruitment efforts to allow only for the replacement of positions deemed essential to university operations.

Madeline V. Verochio-McDonald, a senior in Political Science, is currently employed as a Clerical Assistant with University Relations. Verochio said, “We’re not essential? But we run the University. It’s kind of ridiculous. Is he setting the University up to fail?”

According to a recent review of WSU’s staff hirings between May 1 and Aug. 1 of this year, there were nearly 50 percent fewer positions filled, in comparison with the same period in 2007.

King acknowledges that the University’s hiring has been reduced as a result of the freeze but she said, “Student workers have been exempted from the freeze; we hired hundreds of students, for instance, for the re-opening of the CUB.”

Students were given jobs when the Compton Union Building (CUB) re-opened, but that does not mean that they are exempt from feeling the effects of the freeze. “I’m limited to only working 10 hours a week,” Verochio said, “I couldn’t work more, even I was needed, and there have been times that I was, but I couldn’t because of the budget restrictions.”

University employees are also helping out in other departments, said Verochio. “Even though I work within the University Relations department, I am also helping out WSU Today, Washington State University’s alumni magazine, because they couldn’t get an intern this year, and they really need the help.”

Despite the hiring freeze, President Floyd was granted a $125,000 pay increase by the Washington State University Board of Regents, spiking his pay from $600,000 to $725,000 a year. “The WSU Board of Regents determined President Floyd’s salary before the Governor implemented the freeze,” said King.

SLS