Dear TU colleagues,

This week, we celebrate our graduates and the culmination of another year of achievement for our university. At the same time, we continue to address the many challenges that are impacting our state and our nation—and consequently, our university.

On Monday, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents authorized potential furloughs and/or salary reductions for employees across the system. It is important to note that this action specifically allows leaders of the USM's 12 universities and regional centers to determine individually whether such actions are necessary for their institutions.

On behalf of our community, I thank the Board of Regents for its careful and timely consideration of a very challenging set of issues regarding the financial management of the USM units. Although we are a system, each of the USM institutions faces unique and differing circumstances.

The actions that will need to be taken by each USM member will be driven by those specific challenges.

I am pleased to report to our TU community that as result of our actions to date, including our extensive budget planning that took place during this fiscal year (FY25), TU is well prepared to meet the challenges we anticipate facing during the upcoming fiscal year (FY26).

I write to you today to offer some clarity on whËżąĎĘÓƵ has done and will continue to do to navigate this financial turbulence expected in the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

  • As we have throughout this current fiscal year, TU will continue to direct an intentional pause on all hiring—meaning most vacant positions will remain open for at least six months before they are filled. Additionally, all open positions will be assessed carefully in terms of their need and timeline for recruitment. This hiring pause—different than a hiring freeze—is a responsible and proactive approach to personnel management. Our actions in this regard already have saved considerable funds in FY25 and are forecasted to save additional funds in the upcoming fiscal year. Consequently, at present, we are not anticipating other imminent personnel actions.
  • We continue to explore all possible, responsible and feasible opportunities to limit our expenditures while also seeking to increase our revenues across our university. This includes a newly instituted additional review of all procurements above $50,000.
  • While TU continues to be financially robust and healthy overall, TU’s share of the current USM operating budget reduction is $15.2M for FY26. We are managing our required reduction across our colleges and administrative divisions. Rather than across-the-board reductions in budget, our approach has been targeted—based both on meeting essential needs and finding opportunistic investments. University leaders have collaborated to prepare proposed budgets that reflect their share of TU's reduction, which will go into effect July 1.

The three principles guiding our decisions during this reduction are simple:

    • Our students come first, and we aim for there to be no disruption to their experience or pathway to success.
    • We must stay committed to our strategic plan and our presidential priorities.
    • We must do all we can to not disrupt the livelihoods of our faculty and staff.

It is possible that additional reductions to TU's state appropriations, which comprise 34% of our overall annual budget, as well as further reductions in federal support, could be forthcoming. If so, additional adjustments to our budget then will be required.

I cannot report that additional personnel actions won't be necessary in our future. However, such actions would be a last resort. I am committed to keeping our TU community updated as we move into a new fiscal year with yet-unknown financial and other associated operational challenges to address.

This week's news of our USM colleagues considering personnel-related changes at their institutions is an indication of the significant economic impact of the state budget deficit and the consequence of both reductions in state appropriations and funding at the federal level. As I've often shared with you this year, we must remain calm and focused in the face of these challenges. And above all, we must remain driven by our mission and led by our values. We cannot, and will not, stray from our course and trajectory.

We must remember, even in turbulent times for universities across the country, that with challenges also come opportunities. And I am confident that the opportunities we have are far greater than the challenges we face. TU's momentum is as strong as it has ever been.

With collaboration and trust in one another, I ask that we stay positive, stay focused and stay together—as we continue to make TU a great university for Maryland.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D.

President