KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — This week, University of Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman sent an email to faculty and staff addressing new initiatives to help the school move forward and plan ahead for the fall semester.
The Chancellor commended the faculty and staff for their "incredible work" to support students and each other during a difficult time.
Plowman announced there would be a hiring pause. The email read "To maximize financial flexibility, all hiring except mission-critical vacancies will be paused until we have more financial certainty."
She also announced new spending limitations. Explaining in the email that "We must all work hard to control spending in the last two and a half months of the fiscal year. Expenditures should be limited to only the most essential as we need to preserve cash for possible needs in the fall. I am calling on each of you to join me in making decisions now that will benefit our campus community later."
Plowman noted that over the past week, the school has refunded nearly $16 million in fees. She said it was "in the best interest of our campus community to manage our budget carefully going forward, given the uncertainty that exists."
Plowman did address the fall semester, saying she is appointing a task force composed of campus stakeholders to help come up with ideas on the safe return to campus.