RIT is announcing a number of cost-savings measures to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
University President David Munson and other officials posted a message on RIT’s website, saying that, “Updates from federal, state, and local authorities lead us to believe that we may continue in our current state of altered operations and uncertainty for some time.”
RIT officials say they have already announced several actions in response to what is expected to be a significant loss of current and projected revenue. Among the changes in place at least through June 30, the end of the fiscal year are:
-Freeze in hiring for both regular faculty and staff, as well as temporary employees.
-Suspension of purchasing activity.
-Suspension of nonessential travel.
-Suspension of increases to current salaries.
-Suspension of additional compensation and special assignment payments.
The latest actions announced this week include:
-Curtailment of nearly all capital projects planned for this summer.
-No merit salary increases for faculty, staff or administrators for fiscal year 2021.
-A significant reduction in use of temporary employees for fiscal year 2021
-Initiation of a furlough program for those employees who currently are unable to perform their primary duties, either on campus or at home, due to restrictions imposed by New York State as a result of the pandemic. Employees on furlough will continue to receive their current medical benefits and officials say that most will be eligible for New York Unemployment Insurance benefits.
-RIT officials say that the university is prepared to implement a graduated salary reduction program limited to employees above a defined compensation threshold, with the largest burden carried by those with the highest salaries.
The statement from Munson and the other officials expresses gratitude to the faculty and staff for their, “remarkable and tireless work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collectively, you have developed and are delivering an outstanding education and set of services to our 19,000 students around the globe.”
