Dear TU staff and faculty colleagues:

The annual University System of Maryland (USM) have been provided for the new fiscal year (FY26), which begins July 1, 2025.

I am pleased to share that the FY26 budget provides for a 1% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which will be applied to all full-time TU faculty and staff, including Contingent II staff, adjunct faculty and lecturers, effective July 1, 2025. For 9-month faculty, the COLA is effective at the start of the new contract period.

While the USM guidelines allow institutions to provide merit increases for some employees, given the current fiscal climate driven by both significant reductions in state and federal funding, merit increases will not be provided to begin FY26. Consequently, our current approach to and configuration of our FY26 budget will not, at this time, require other personnel actions or disruptions.

Our approach also will allow TU to preserve resources in the upcoming fiscal year and continue to prioritize our students, our programs and our people as we move forward in an uncertain fiscal environment. Of course, we also will need to remain nimble during a time of continued fiscal uncertainty.

I am also announcing that the entire President’s Cabinet has chosen to defer their 1% COLA in FY26—instead dedicating the funds earmarked for that purpose to supplement support available for student aid. I applaud, and thank, our entire university community for the sacrifices we all have made including initiatives such as mid-year budget reductions and our pause in hiring.

This has been a challenging fiscal year for the entire USM, and I am pleased to both relay Chancellor Jay A. Perman’s and echo its sentiments. We keep our entire USM family in our thoughts as some institutions will face personnel actions, including hiring freezes as well as possible furloughs and layoffs. As I shared at the end of the spring semester, TU will continue to put our students, faculty and staff first through careful and deliberate fiscal management.

After a remarkable year, culminating with an unforgettable week of celebrating our graduates through six Commencement ceremonies, I thank all my TU colleagues for the highly consequential work in which you are engaged.

On behalf of all university leadership—thank you! We all are deeply appreciative for all you do to make Towson University a great place to learn, work and grow.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D.
President