Law Professors Begin Feeling Economic Pinch
The budget crisis is affecting law school budgets—and the professors and administrators who work there.
Some law professors and administrators are facing unpaid leave or frozen paychecks as schools grapple with reduced budgets, according to TaxProf Blog and the National Law Journal. Other schools have implemented hiring freezes and warned of possible furloughs.
Even schools that haven’t taken such drastic action are grappling with the need to cut budgets, the National Law Journal reported last month. One example is Temple University, which is cutting 2 percent of its budget by leaving some positions unfilled, cutting down on faculty travel, and reducing library acquisitions, among other things.
Another school, the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has lost 9 percent of its budget since 2007, the story says. And Florida State University’s law school saw 7 percent in budget cuts over the last year and a half.
Among the schools where faculty and administrators will be feeling the pinch:
• Arizona State University and its Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law implemented furloughs ranging from 12 days for faculty to 15 days for deans. TaxProf Blog posted a memo explaining the furloughs.
• Brooklyn Law School is freezing salaries of faculty and administrators. Above the Law posted the announcement.
• The University of Maryland and its law school are requiring unpaid leave of up to five days.
• The University of California Hastings College of Law is freezing pay for administrators.
