Because further cuts are likely, most of the system's campuses are in wait-and-see mode. Administrators say they won't make new hires because of the uncertainty and are reluctant to announce specific cuts until they know final numbers.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, for example, will contribute $3.4 million to the first round of cuts, according to a recent e-mail to the campus from President Freeman Hrabowski. But aside from a continued hiring freeze, he offered few specifics, noting that he wants suggestions from the entire UMBC community and that he might create small work groups to hash out the details of the reductions.
A similar e-mail from College Park President C.D. "Dan" Mote went into greater detail. Mote said a $14.6 million cut would lead to staff reductions and that the university would beef up its summer- and winter-term course offerings in hopes of generating more revenue. Like Hrabowski, he asked for suggestions from all corners and said uncertainty remains because of the looming second round of cuts.
Though the cuts would not reach the system's tenured faculty, the losses of adjunct professors and graduate assistants would have a damaging effect on everyone, said Elise Miller-Hooks, an engineering professor at College Park and chair of the University Senate.
"It would mean more time spent teaching courses and less on research," Miller-Hooks said. "It would hurt the adjuncts the most, but everyone gets hurt."
Miller-Hooks said past cuts have been evenly distributed across departments.
"But what we don't want to see is more of the same, because if we cut again, there are going to be some programs that just can't function," she said. "I hope that we can be creative and find some excesses, because this cut is going to hurt."
Some universities expect their cuts to have less impact.
Towson University plans to cut $2.4 million by restricting travel, continuing a partial hiring freeze and eliminating some open positions. Spokeswoman Marina Cooper said layoffs and salary reductions appear unlikely.
"Hopefully, the students won't see it," she said of the impact. "We're all anticipating a larger cut, so we're trying to begin the behaviors that will get us through it. We don't anticipate having to do anything more drastic at the end of the month."
The politically touchy issue of tuition increases could become central to the budget discussions. O'Malley indicated last week that he might back off his tuition freeze after four years.
