The University of California announced a system-wide employment freeze to stop and reduce layoffs on Wednesday, and the University of California faces an unprecedented threat from the Trump administration on Wednesday to hold the key to its mission as a public university system in the country.
Saying that higher education in America is in a “time of great uncertainty,” President Michael V. Drake explained the decision in a letter on Wednesday and the UC Regent Conference, saying the cuts will affect almost every aspect of the widespread UC operation, including the administration office and all 10 campuses.
“The new administration in Washington, D.C. has announced that it has proposed numerous executive orders and policy changes, including those that threaten funding for life-saving research, patient care and education support,” Drake said. Drake said he and the prime minister are ready for “important financial challenges ahead,” coupled with the preparations the university had already put in response to the $396.6 million state funding proposal.
Cuts announced Wednesday include system-wide employment freezes, delays in maintenance work and reduced business trips. Drake said he instructed all UC locations to “preparation of financial strategies and labor management plans” to address the shortage.
The university system has thousands of opens in 10 campuses, six academic medical centers and 20 medical schools. At UCLA, hundreds of academic jobs have been posted online, with over 1,000 heath-related occupations in nursing, medical research, clinical and non-clinical roles.
As a result of employment, students were able to see fewer lecturers and class options, increased waiting time before enrolling in the course, and larger class sizes.
UC is on the growth list of universities across the country that are reducing their ambitions in response to President Trump.
Recruitment Freeze hit Stanford, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, North Carolina State University, University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Within the UC system, UC San Diego has already said last month it has implemented its own employment freeze.
The decision by Drake and the university leaders comes as the Trump administration has poses multiple threats to quit school under allegations that it wasted federal money, the president’s opposition to the racial diversity program, the transgender woman playing on sports teams, and the protest he deems “illegal.”
Last month, UC was devastatingly hit the university’s budget released by the National Institutes of Health, which filed court documents to support lawsuits filed in response to deep cuts and released billions of dollars for grants focused on cancer, diabetes and other major disease research.
A Massachusetts judge ordered a temporary suspension cut while the case passes through federal court.
The threat of losing NIH funds has loomed at UC on a massive scale, receiving $2.6 billion from the system’s federal awards last year. Campuses in San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles accounted for a large portion of the funding.
UCLA will receive approximately $1.1 billion from the federal government, including the NIH, NASA, the National Fund for the Humanities and the Agency for Advanced Defense Research Projects, with a budget of $11 billion. About $900 million of that amounts to direct federal funding for research and projects in the medical and scientific fields, plus an additional $200 million cover overhead.
At the university’s town hall last month, UCLA’s chief financial officer Stephen Agostini and campus leaders said they were in a hurry to find alternative sources of funding and reach a short period of time. “There’s really no way to sugarcoat it,” he said of the potential lack of funds.
The Trump administration also threatened to cancel money from the federal government. This in that view does not comply with the federal anti-discrimination laws. This month, federal authorities cancelled a $400 million grant to Columbia University, accusing them of mistreating Palestinian protests and ignoring alleged anti-Semitism incidents.
UC and some of its campuses are facing an onslaught of federal investigations or warnings, a new multi-task force on Justice, the Department of Education, anti-Semitism and other agencies over allegations of abuse of Jewish students and employees.
On Wednesday, Drake said UC still “sees” for the campus community and others who are supported by UC.
“Through our history, both institutions and nations, we have overcome struggles and found new ways to emerge for the people we serve,” he writes. “We’ll address these challenges together. I’m extremely confident in the dedication of the team working on these issues, as well as the students, faculty and staff.”
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