In a message sent to the University of California Community today, UC system President Michael V. Drake announced that he “will implement a systemwide hiring freeze to help the University manage costs and conserve funds.”
Drake’s announcement comes a day after Moody’s Ratings downgraded its outlook for the higher education sector from stable to negative, citing how “recent and potential federal policy changes create a more difficult operating environment for colleges and universities.”
Pointing to the recent executive orders and policy proposals of the Trump administration plus the the 2025-26 California state budget calling for a substantial cut to the University’s budget, Drake said UC leaders have been “working diligently to protect the University and our mission through the courts. We will continue to pursue all appropriate actions and advocacy options available to us moving forward.”
Drake wrote that those efforts “have allowed us to stave off some of the immediate and projected financial impacts — but not all. As we face funding reductions at both the state and federal levels, the Chancellors and I are preparing for significant financial challenges ahead.”
In addition to the hiring freeze, Drake said he had directed every UC location, including the Office of the President, to prepare financial strategies and workforce management plans to address potential shortfalls. He also called for other cost-saving measures, such as delaying maintenance and reducing business travel.
Drake said he recognized that this was a “time of great uncertainty” both for UC and all of higher education, before adding, “throughout our history as an institution and as a nation, we have weathered struggles and found new ways to show up for the people we serve. We will address these challenges, together. I have tremendous confidence in the team that is working on these issues, and in the dedication of our students, faculty, and staff.”
The University of California System operates 10 campuses, six academic medical centers and three national laboratories. It enrolls more than 295,000 students and employs 265,000 faculty and staff, making it one of the largest public systems of higher education in the nation.
UC’s move is just the latest example of a major university electing to freeze hiring, slow down admissions to its graduate programs or look to other measures to control expenses as the turmoil in Washington, D.C. concerning higher education funding and policies continues to churn.
That list already includes premier institutions like MIT, Cornell, Harvard, Columbia, Johns Hopkins University, Notre Dame, Emory University, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Pennsylvania. Expect it to grow even longer as the Trump administration continues to pursue research funding cutbacks and the withdrawal of federal funding from the increasing number of universities it now appears to be targeting.