Suffering losses because of the coronavirus shutdown, the University of Rochester and UR Medicine are fighting back by making plans for staff furloughs, imposing a hiring freeze and giving pay cut of up to 18 percent to top officials.
In a letter to the university community, President Sarah Mangelsdorf said UR leadership has been forced to make some tough decisions. Cancellation of non-essential surgeries, refunding room and board to students from the campus shutdown, switching to telemedicine and to remote learning have all cost the university a substantial amount of income.
The hiring freeze is effective immediately, as is a hold on all capital projects. Pay cuts for senior staff will be implemented as of May 1st. There will be no merit raises this year, and regular furloughs will be imposed over the summer months. The university says its hope is that employees will recoup the losses through unemployment benefits.