UCF put a hold on hiring faculty and staff due to the circumstances of the coronavirus on Tuesday. The university said the freeze on hiring is to ensure campus safety and to prepare for the financial challenges of the pandemic while keeping the university open and operational, according to a statement.
“Our primary focus is to ensure the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff while keeping the university open and operational,” the Thursday statement reads.
The hiring freeze comes 11 days after the UCF Board of Trustees unanimously voted Alexander Cartwright as UCF’s sixth president during a process that was completed mostly virtually since mid-March. Cartwright’s name did not become public until March 18.
His contract is set to begin on April 13.
The freeze directly affects education and general and auxiliary funded faculty, staff, administrative and professional appointments, and other personal services positions will be affected. It also applies to Direct Support Organizations like UCF Athletics.
“This global pandemic will have financial implications for our university, and it is important that we begin preparing for financial challenges,” the statement reads.
According to the statement, the following vacancies may continue to be posted and filled:
- Contract and grant — or C&G funded — positions are excluded from the freeze.
- Graduate assistants and postdoctoral scholars.
- Current searches for which offers cards have been submitted to HR or Academic Affairs through PageUp prior to April 1.
- Current faculty searches for which soft offer letters have been submitted to Academic Affairs for contract approval prior to April 1.
All impacted job openings were set to be removed from the Careers at UCF website, the Thursday statement states.
All remaining job openings on the site at the time of publication appear to fit the criteria of essential function and the exception to UCF’s hiring freeze.
The statement lists the reasons for exceptions to the hiring freeze to include positions critical to:
- Campus and personal health and safety
- Compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations
- Delivery of essential university services
- Courses necessary for timely graduation–
Departments can request exceptions based on a critical need, and more information can be found at the UCF Human Resources’ website.
In an attached “Frequently Asked Questions” document, the hiring freeze is said to be in effect until further notice and until UCF’s Human Resources informs the community it is no longer is in effect.
Individuals with additional questions regarding the hiring freeze should contact Director of Talent Acquisition Renée Grigor at Renee.Grigor@ucf.edu, or check the UCF Human Resources’ website.
