The weather might be warming up with summer approaching, but for administrators, the budget is still frozen. In anticipation of budget cuts from the state, the Ohio University Board of Trustees implemented a soft hiring freeze at their February meeting.
Because of the freeze, non-faculty employees who retire or resign are not replaced. Empty positions can be handled in three different ways. The position can remain unfilled, be abolished or be appealed to a review committee, which decides whether vital positions can be refilled, said John Burns, OU director of legal affairs.
Not all the vacant positions have gone through the committee or been reported to human resources, so definite numbers concerning the freeze are not available. But at the April Board of Trustees meeting, Glidden reported that more than 40 positions had been frozen with only one in committee and that $1.9 million had been saved so far to the university's annual budget.
Unfilled positions can be taken by higher-level classified staff members who are displaced from their positions. For example, employees in the clinic operated by the College of Osteopathic Medicine could take unfilled positions after the clinic becomes a private operation July 1. In doing that, the unit is able to keep the position operating, but is unable to save any money, said OU President Robert Glidden. By abolishing the position entirely, positions cannot be refilled and units can cut their budgets.
Empty positions can also be reviewed by a committee, which determines whether a replacement is absolutely necessary. The committee comprises Burns, Provost Stephen Kopp, Vice President for Administration Gary North, Executive Assistant to the President for Institutional Equity Bill Smith.
According to the Office of Human Resources, as of June 2, the committee had considered 47 positions and approved 34 for rehire.
Glidden estimated that $8 million needs to be cut from the base budget for next year.
In another effort to cut personnel costs, which are 75 percent of the university's expenditures, officials are offering administrators an early-retirement incentive package. The package gives retiring administrators two extra year's credit in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System if they retire now. So far, 89 administrators have taken the option, and Glidden said hope to increase that number to 100 before the end of the month.
While most people realize that cutting the budget is imperative, several people question the reasoning behind which positions are rehired and which are not.
In the department of Health Education and Wellness located in Hudson Health Center, one of the two assistant directors is resigning in August. Samantha Brauner, whose job focuses on sexual-assault prevention and education, announced before the hiring freeze took effect that she would be leaving. Director Char Kopchick declared Brauner's position a necessity and asked the review committee to unfreeze the position.
"It's a little more complicated than black and white on that position," Burns said. "We have not granted approval yet, but it is still a possibility."
Many students, especially those participants in Take Back the Night, are advocating strongly for the woman they call 'their advocate' and the position that they are willing to fight for.
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Katie Primm
