March 19, 2025

Dear Deans, Directors, and Department Leadership:

Thank you for your patience as we work to provide guidance on the temporary hiring chill and other spending measures announced by Vice President for University Operations and Chief Financial Officer Brendan Hanlon in the budget memorandum issued on Wednesday, March 11: Maintaining CSU’s Fiscal Health.

Regarding faculty searches, please follow these guidelines:

Faculty Searches in the Final Stages Should Continue IF:

• The faculty member has already interviewed on campus or is in the process of interviewing on campus or has already been invited to interview and has booked travel.
• An offer has been made or is being negotiated.

Faculty Searches Should Pause IF:

• The position has not yet posted.
• The position is posted but the search has not progressed to the final stages as described above.
  • This includes any searches where a search committee has been convened and/or is reviewing applications or has conducted semi-finalist interviews remotely but has not progressed to the final search/hiring stages as described above.

Requests for Exemption

Requests for exemptions or exceptions to faculty search/hiring pauses must be submitted online via this form: University Position Justification Form.  Please carefully follow the instructions provided and note that requests must clearly demonstrate critical need based on accreditation requirements, student progression, or other mission critical obligations.

We know this latest budget news presents the potential of additional impacts for your unit on top of the reallocation outcomes we face for FY26. As Vice President Hanlon stated in his memo, these temporary measures are being implemented to ensure financial stability and minimize job losses as we navigate uncertain funding conditions.  Thank you for your understanding and support.

Please reach out to Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Sue James or to [email protected] if you require further clarification for the process for requesting a hiring pause exemption or any concerns you might have.

Sincerely,

Marion Underwood, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President

Sue James, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs