UC to enact hiring freeze amidst California woes, Trump threats

LOS ANGELES - The University of California will enact a system-wide hiring freeze after the president warned about tough financial times ahead.

At a UC Board of Regents meeting on Wednesday in Los Angeles, UC President Michael Drake outlined the challenges for the system's 10 campuses, research centers and more than a quarter million students. 

He spoke of an expected drop in state funding because of California's budget deficit: State lawmakers have proposed a $396 million state funding cut.

And he also spoke of the canceling of National Institute of Health grants and federal funding by the Trump administration. 

"Many of the administration's plans were made clear during the presidential campaign," Drake said. "My office, as well as our campuses, our health enterprise and our labs, began mapping out contingency plans long before the election. That effort continues now.

Part of that effort, Drake said, is a hiring freeze. 

He also called on all departments to delay maintenance work, reduce business travel and find additional ways to cut their budgets.

It's not clear whether these cost-cutting moves will apply to salary increases.

In addition to UC, Stanford, Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania have also all announced hiring freezes. 

The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funding from universities that have policies that he believes don't align with his political views.