Villanova University will stop filling most staff vacancies for six months, citing a 15% jump in employee health costs.
President Peter M. Donohue announced the restrictions in an email to faculty and staff Monday, Oct. 19, first reported by The Villanovan, the student newspaper. Every request to fill a staff opening must now go through a newly created Staff Hiring Review Committee before it can move forward.
The six-member committee includes Neil Horgan, vice president for finance and chief financial officer, and Ray Duffy, vice president for human resources. Jen Derry, associate vice president for human resources, Tim Hoffman, vice provost for finance and administration, Christine Palus, senior vice provost for academics, and Ariella Robbins, vice president for UNITAS, round out the group.
Each hiring request must include a job summary analysis. Even after a request is approved, hiring managers should expect to wait up to six months before the position is filled, according to Donohue's email.
Positions deemed "critical to daily University operations" will be expedited, Donohue wrote. If the committee denies a request, managers can appeal to Donohue and the Executive Council.
The 15% health-cost increase was one pressure point Donohue flagged during his opening address in early September. He pointed to broader financial pressures across higher education as well.
"This careful review is particularly important given the rising cost of higher education and the financial pressures affecting colleges and universities across the country," Donohue wrote.
Voluntary early retirement packages are also in the works. Donohue first mentioned the plans during his September address and said in the Oct. 19 email that more details would come in the months ahead.
The cost-cutting measures come as Villanova is simultaneously investing in growth. The university opened its 112-acre Cabrini Campus in Radnor this fall after a $100 million renovation, according to Main Line Media News. Donohue said at the campus opening in August that the university plans to increase enrollment by about 250 students per year over four years, growing from 7,000 to 8,000 students.
Villanova is not the only university cutting costs. Inside Higher Ed reported that several universities announced significant workforce reductions in September, with the University of Utah planning to cut at least 285 employees. Gardner-Webb University also froze hiring for some positions to address $6.7 million in projected financial needs.
No timeline has been set for the early retirement packages. Villanova employees are waiting for details Donohue promised in the months ahead.
