Numerous public universities are closing out the spring term with hiring freezes, layoffs and structural cuts as leaders confront budget shortfalls. Last week, the University of Oregon announced that it has frozen hiring and pay increases while it works to close a projected $65 million structural deficit, largely tied to lower out-of-state enrollment and tuition revenue. These actions reflect a “changing reality across higher education” as universities wrestle with enrollment declines, state funding reductions, rising costs and uncertainty in federal research funding and other factors, President Karl Scholz said.
