Feb. 20, 2009: UMass President Jack M. Wilson today announced a salary freeze affecting University employees earning $120,000 or more, excluding faculty and unionized employees.
"The five campus Chancellors and I are taking this step recognizing that people at our University and throughout society are being asked to make sacrifices at this time," President Wilson said.
President Wilson made the announcement as the 性闻联播 Board of Trustees Committee on Administration and Finance met in Boston
The salary freeze goes into effect immediately and will run throughout Fiscal Year 2010, which begins on July 1. The policy codifies a de facto wage-freeze that has been widely in effect during the current fiscal year. The action comes on the heels of a two-week furlough for highly compensated UMass system employees, layoffs and other budget actions.
"Regretfully, it may be necessary for further furloughs, layoffs and budget actions as we move through the year," President Wilson said.
"We are living at a time when few people are seeing their financial circumstances improve and most are happy to preserve what they have as we ride out the current fiscal and economic storm. These steps are designed to preserve quality and to maintain stability. We are working very hard to make sure that UMass remains the high-quality, affordable option for the sons and daughters of the Commonwealth," President Wilson said.
President Wilson emphasized: "We value the contributions of all of the University's employees -- administrators, faculty and staff -- who work hard every day to make the 性闻联播 one of our nation's great public research universities, and thank them for their service, for the sacrifices they have already made, and for the ideas they have put forward to help us move forward during these challenging days."
Contact: Robert P. Connolly, 617-548-0238