Chancellor Robert D. Coombe has halted all current searches for new faculty and staff as a result of the current economic situation, according to an e-mail he sent to faculty and staff last Wednesday.

His decision is effective immediately.

“We expect to make a number of decisions and take appropriate actions within the next 90 days, so as to have an impact on the development of our operating budget for fiscal year 2010,” Coombe wrote in the e-mail.

DU’s current tuition is $32,976 per year, not including room, board and other fees.

Coombe cited the volatility of the current economic environment as the impetus for his decision on a hiring freeze.

“Our size is now such that we are at or near the capacity of our campus, and consequently we have entered a period of intentionally stable enrollments,” Coombe wrote in his e-mail.

“Further, our tuition rate has reached a level from which substantial further growth may not be reasonable – a condition underscored by the recent economic downturn.”

Commenting on the hiring freeze, Michael Levine-Clark, president of the Faculty Senate, said, “I think that it’s probably too early to know how to react.”

Coombe also wrote that administration must “rethink our centralized operating model and make appropriate modifications” in light of the economy, Coombe wrote.

However, despite the challenge that the current economic situation poses for all higher education, Coombe wrote that DU has “great strength and momentum.”

He said, “The year completed was in many ways the very best in our history. This good condition provides us with a solid platform from which to address the fundamental issue of our dependence on growth. To do so, we must focus our resources on our core mission – the education of our students, the work of our faculty, and the public good.”

David Brendsel, university spokesman, said the hiring freeze will affect Daniels College of Business and the Sturm College of Law school, the two largest units of DU, the same way, as well as the division of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

“Hiring for all open positions is halted until the administration reviews critical hiring needs,” Brendsel said. “In the coming weeks, the administration expects to determine a course of action that addresses our dependence on growth and sustains the university’s financial health.”

“This is a hard piece of news for all of us, and yet we all know that we are not an island at DU,” said Anne McCall, dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS), in an e-mail sent to AHSS faculty and staff. “It is important to act prudently given the current financial situation.”

In her e-mail, McCall stated that several of her colleagues had written to inquire about the possibility of obtaining exemptions to continue faculty and staff searches that are already ongoing or preparing to undertake.

McCall wrote that she is currently seeking more information regarding those inquiries, but she will “advocate strongly on behalf of AHSS.”

“While it is unrealistic to hope that we will obtain the number of reprieves we would like… the central administration is acting to strengthen our institution in challenging circumstances,” McCall wrote.

Some faculty and staff searches that are approved by the Chancellor will be allowed to proceed during the three-month period, he said.

Merit-based salary increases will proceed as usual, effective Jan. 1.

Last week the Dow Jones industrial average fell by the largest percentage in its history.