RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State University says it has frozen hiring in part because of uncertainty over the effects of federal policy changes and downsizing pursued by President Donald Trump's new administration.

“Given the uncertain impacts of the presidential administration’s Executive Orders and guidance, the potential shut down of the federal government on March 14, and financial challenges that the state government is dealing with, leadership is becoming increasingly concerned with our budgets over the next year or two,” Warwick Arden, the university’s provost and executive vice chancellor, said in a memo Friday to the school's deans and vice provosts.

Arden said the pause in all hiring activities is effective until further notice, but added that he would consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Student workers, including graduate student appointments, and part-time employees are not a part of the hiring freeze, he said.

N.C. State is North Carolina’s largest public university by population, with more than 38,400 students as of fall 2024.

Trump has moved quickly to reshape federal policies and downsize government since he took office less than a month ago. Some of his efforts to freeze or cut spending have been blocked in courts, but they have created uncertainty for institutions that receive federal funds.