The selective hiring freeze that went into effect on April 16 at Ohio State was lifted June 30. The freeze had been implemented in response to funding reductions for higher education in the current state budget.
The state of Ohio reduced its support to higher education by one percent for the 2001 fiscal year, forcing OSU to reduce spending by $5 million during the last quarter of the year. The hiring freeze was instituted as a short-term means of controlling costs.
“Approximately 850 positions were posted during the freeze. We posted 1371 positions during the same time last year,” said Larry Lewellen, OSU associate vice president of Human Resources. “Therefore, during the freeze we saw a position posting reduction of nearly 40 percent.”
The positions that were posted consisted heavily of health care positions and positions providing services to students, Lewellen said.
Instructional positions and health and safety personnel positions were exempt from the hiring freeze to ensure students’ academic experience was not compromised and to maintain the level of support OSU provides to its health care patients and families.
Regional campus positions were not directly included because they are funded separately by the state.
The hiring freeze was accompanied by a number of other cost reduction strategies that remain in effect. These include: postponement of new Academic Enrichment funding, delayed implementation of a competitive admissions policy, a flat FY 2002 operating budget for supplies and equipment and limits on strategic hires of national academy-caliber faculty.
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