SEATTLE — The University of Washington has hit the pause button on hiring as the outlook for state and potentially federal funding seems uncertain.
KIRO 7′s crew was out early at the UW campus Wednesday morning, talking to some who believe the cuts will likely be felt across the university as staffers are stretched thin.
Roland Herman works with UW Facilities and can understand why a hiring freeze would happen, “As far as hiring freezes... I mean if that’s what they have to do as far as budget.”
The university has admitted that the hiring freeze is tough, but necessary at the moment. In a post online on the UW Provost’s blog, the university says it is pausing non-essential staff hiring and limiting faculty hiring.
Herman hopes it does not go further, “Hopefully there’s not going to be a furlough... hopefully there’s not going to be layoffs.”
Jonathan Day was decked out in UW attire as he crossed the quad early Wednesday, he too is concerned about the hiring freeze and other budget concerns, “I hate to see it happen, I think the university is really on a growth curve.” Day doesn’t want money lost to translate into stunted growth with innovative campus programs, “with a lot of new great programs... I’d hate to see any of that lost. I’d hate to lose staff.”
David Anderson also works with UW Facilities as a Mason, KIRO 7 asked him if he felt his and other departments are understaffed, “Yes absolutely, I’m a mason and I am one of two masons.”
Anderson was also out early Wednesday surveying the quad he maintains. He says he’s done masonry work on the historic buildings that ring the quad, but also knows the workload was significant even before a hiring freeze, “it (the work)’s endless… they want us to do more with less and that’s just kind of the continuing theme.”
Anderson would love to have a team taking care of the historic buildings around the quad but the prospect doesn’t look good at getting a few more masons, “we’re overwhelmed, we won’t be able to keep up with deferred maintenance... just the maintenance of the buildings. They all leak.”
In the statement online, the University of Washington said: “By using this time to proactively save our resources and thoughtfully plan, we will be better prepared to manage any future funding cuts to protect our mission for the public good.”
Some on campus, like Jonathan Day, hope the public good is not sacrificed short-term, “Basically, the university is involved with developing our future — our technology future, our medical future and I’d hate to lose that progress.”
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