Bradley University announced on Tuesday that it will decline all non-essential spendings and purchases, halt all hiring processes and suspend all travel plans.
The announcement was delivered to all staff and faculty via email. The email said that COVID-19 has caused unanticipated disruptions to normal business operations on campus, and these actions are to prevent any unintended consequences that could result from prolonged disruptions.
According to the email, the university is suspending all travel card purchases and extremely limiting procurement card purchases.
All university travel cards and procurement cards will be automatically declined until further notice. Only a small group of selected employees with procurement cards will have special permissions to purchase items deemed truly essential for university operations. Other purchases will require advance approvals.
All hiring processes will also be put on a pause.
“There are several important positions that need to be filled, but given the severity of the situation at hand, the administration will be reevaluating those positions on a case-by-case basis,” the email said.
According to the university’s human resources page, there are 19 non-faculty positions and 15 faculty positions posted as of Tuesday afternoon. Positions posted include the dean for the engineering college, chairperson for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and associate provost for research and director of research and sponsored programs.
Bradley is also suspending all university-related international and domestic travel plans regardless of prior approval status.
“We know these changes are difficult and may cause disruptions to your usual work, but these measures are essential. We ask you to please be flexible and know each of our decisions are being made with the best interest of the Bradley Family and the university in mind,” the email stated.
The university is expected to announce its longer-term operational plan by the end of Wednesday.
