University of Maryland Eastern Shore facing state funding cuts

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is facing 10 percent in state funding cuts.

UMES must now reduce its required spending by 7 percent and roll back anticipated spending by 3 percent.

That means plans to eliminate all positions that have been vacant for three years or more and institute a hiring pause – with some rare exceptions.

UMES also plans to start tele-work on Fridays for some employees. That begins May 23rd and will run through Aug 8th.

University employees will see a modest Cost of Living Adjustment.

School officials say they could also save money through attrition, reducing the temporary workforce, furloughs and routine personnel realignment.

“I think here at UMES we’ve chosen these measures rather than say blanket personnel reductions or other things that hurt people in their pockets more deeply,” said Robert Vickers, Vice President for Strategic Communications & Marketing at UMES. “We’ve chosen these to lessen the impact on our faculty and our staff and their families.”

We’re told each campus is approaching the cuts in their own way to best meet their circumstance.