WORCESTER— Earlier this week, news spread throughout the community that the UMass Chan Medical School had implemented a hiring freeze and paused discretionary spending in response to financial uncertainty surrounding federal research funding.
A March 11 memo to the campus outlined the immediate measures now in place.
The medical school has halted hiring across faculty, grant-funded positions, and summer internships. Promotions and salary increases, including the planned July 1 annual raises, are also on hold. Targeted furloughs and layoffs are under discussion.
“This difficult decision was made to ensure that our current students’ progress is not disrupted by the funding cuts,” the school said in a March 13 statement.
The freeze comes as UMass Chan faces potential financial strain due to proposed changes to National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding and concerns over Medicaid budget reductions. The school was cited in a lawsuit co-led by the Massachusetts Attorney General challenging the NIH’s proposed cap on indirect costs, which could lead to an annual loss of $40 to $50 million for the institution.
The school has also rescinded provisional admission offers for several dozen Ph.D. candidates for the fall 2025 term, citing concerns about available research funding. Affected applicants receive priority consideration in future admissions cycles.
UMass Chan officials emphasized that the financial situation remains fluid and that executive leadership is in active discussions with department chairs and other stakeholders to manage the crisis.
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