Richard McCarty, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, recently announced a plan to freeze all staff and faculty salaries, with the exceptions of promotion-related raises and mission- critical or market-sensitive positions. This is another cost-cutting measure implemented due to economic conditions and the decrease of the asset values in the endowment. Furthermore, the short-term assets (used to pay day to day costs) were frozen earlier in the semester, causing issues with payroll that affected many of the faculty and staff.

As a well-endowed private university, it stands to reason that Vanderbilt will not be receiving any surprise windfall from the bailout in the immediate future, especially since less 50 percent of the funds will actually be spent in 2009. Therefore, such cost-cutting methods should not be surprising. While it is unfortunate — especially for those recuperating from the economic setbacks themselves — these measures are essential for preserving the university's long-term solvency and financial expansion. It is important to note this is one of many cutbacks that will be made over the next few months, and possibly few years, and that they should be taken in stride — while some measure may seem drastic, they're necessary.

However, there is genuine concern for the workers affected by these initiatives. Some staff may face pay cuts, decrease in wages or possibly lay-offs in an increasingly hostile environment. Eli Feghali, organizer for Living Income for Vanderbilt Employees, described her organizations mission as "an expressed purpose to prevent any layoffs or hourly/benefit cutbacks from Vanderbilt’s most vulnerable employees.” So while these cut-backs might be necessary, it is important that it does not disrupt the general staff, who provides the support the university needs from a day-to-day basis. The current situation is quite treacherous and needs to be navigated with aplomb.