On March 19, 2025, the University of California (UC) announced a systemwide hiring freeze in response to federal policy changes under the Trump administration and potential state budget cuts.
UC President Michael V. Drake stated that this hiring freeze would “help the University manage costs and conserve funds” during a “time of great uncertainty.” He instructed all UC campuses to implement “cost-saving measures,” which include delaying maintenance and reducing business travel. Each campus has the discretion to decide how and when to carry out the hiring freeze.
UC Riverside (UCR) announced that job candidates in the hiring process before March 31, 2025, are approved to proceed. Appointments for short-term and temporary positions, including non-academic student employees, academic student employees and graduate student researchers, are exempt. All other hiring requests that do not fall into these specific categories or occur after March 31, 2025, must be approved before proceeding.
Hiring freezes have become standard across several universities nationwide, including Stanford, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Brown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as campuses prepare for President Donald Trump’s policies targeting higher education. These policies include his executive order to limit indirect funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants; efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs; ongoing investigations into “antisemitism” at 60 universities; and the recent dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
Additionally, the UC is facing significant financial challenges due to Governor Newsom’s proposed state budget for 2025-2026, which includes a $369.6 million cut to UC’s operational funding. The governor’s plan would defer $240.8 million for the planned five percent base increase until 2027-2028 and $31 million for a program aimed at replacing nonresident students with in-state students at UC campuses such as Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego.
As the UC navigates federal and state budget cuts, the hiring freeze seeks to ensure the university’s long-term financial stability. However, it is expected to have widespread adverse effects across all departments, directly impacting students in various aspects of campus life, including course offerings, research opportunities, student services and overall operational efficiency.
The hiring freeze will prevent non-tenure faculty candidates from obtaining tenure-track positions. Non-tenure faculty — lecturers, instructors or adjunct professors — hold academic positions based on employment contracts requiring renewal. These roles have limited job security and typically offer lower salaries and less research funding than tenure-track positions.
In contrast, tenure positions provide professors with permanent, full-time employment, job security and academic freedom to pursue their research interests. Consequently, non-tenure faculty who have dedicated years to teaching and conducting research to achieve tenure will find this opportunity no longer available due to the hiring freeze.
Without the availability of tenure-track positions, the number of highly qualified faculty will decline, leading to fewer course offerings, larger class sizes and diminished student-faculty interactions. Furthermore, undergraduate students will have access to fewer research opportunities as non-tenure faculty generally have limited funding for research projects. Tenure-track faculty may also face financial constraints due to funding cuts from the Trump administration affecting the NIH. As leading research institutions, the UC and UCR will face threats to its unique and prestigious status.
Concerns about hiring have already been raised at UCR. Earlier in the academic year, three tenured professors from the Department of Economics left for “very good opportunities” at other institutions. Although the university claimed these professors received “good offers,” UCR will struggle to retain tenured faculty amidst competitive salary offers if the hiring freeze continues, combined with reduced federal and state funding. This shortfall in faculty will result in smaller academic departments and fewer classes for specific majors, ultimately decreasing the overall educational quality on campus.
The hiring freeze also hinders the expansion of new academic departments and programs. The Department of Society, Environment, and Health Equity (SEHE), which addresses “complex social, medical, and environmental issues” with an “emphasis on sustainability, equity, and social justice,” has made significant strides by hiring new faculty and expanding its course offerings. However, with only seven full-time professors, SEHE and similar departments will struggle to grow under the UC hiring freeze.
Additionally, because the hiring process for tenure-track positions and other campus support roles can take several months, this freeze will likely immediately impact student services at UCR, such as administrative offices, academic advising, financial aid and mental health services. As staff members become overwhelmed by service demands, response times will increase, reducing support for students on campus. This situation is particularly detrimental to UCR students, many of whom are first-generation and low-income. If these students cannot easily access essential services, their graduation timelines may be delayed, jeopardizing their financial stability.
The UC should receive public funding from both federal and state governments as it serves thousands of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff. However, as executive salaries continue to rise each year, the impact of the hiring freeze will disproportionately affect certain members of the UC community, especially in the absence of accountability measures for these salary increases. Instead of consistently raising executive salaries to compete with other university systems, the UC should implement performance-based evaluations and establish clear metrics for salary increases across all campuses.
Moreover, until the UC lifts the hiring freeze, salary increases should be suspended for all UC chancellors and executives. This action would demonstrate that UC and campus leaders — especially the incoming chancellor at UCR — support their students, faculty and staff.
During this uncertain time, the UC and UCR administrations must make thoughtful decisions and allocate financial resources to benefit students, faculty and staff. Higher education is currently under threat, and with the possibility of further budget cuts and policy changes, many livelihoods may be at stake in the coming years.
