Syracuse University plans to cut salaries of its top administrators and coaches, freeze pay for faculty and staff and halt hiring as it deals with a $35 million loss from the coronavirus pandemic.

SU Chancellor Kent Syverud announced the austerity moves in a letter Monday morning to students and faculty.

The cutbacks include a halt to the university’s construction and capital improvement projects, except for the replacement of the Carrier Dome roof.

Syverud said he and SU’s senior leaders will accept a voluntary 10% pay cut for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The pay cuts will extend to vice chancellors, senior vice presidents, deans, the athletic director and coaches Dino Babers, Jim Boeheim, Quentin Hillsman, John Desko and Gary Gait.

“The funds generated through this measure will be specifically reallocated to support students, faculty, and staff who are particularly impacted by the current situation,” Syverud wrote in his letter.

SU also will cancel merit pay increases for the new fiscal year for all faculty and staff who are not paid under contracts negotiated with union bargaining units, the chancellor said.

The hiring freeze will extend to all permanent and temporary staff that are not considered mission-critical positions.

The school also will come up with a plan to cut its costs by 5% across all administration, academic and auxiliary units, Syverud said.

“While there are many unknowns for the coming year, we can realistically expect further and significant financial challenges ahead,” Syverud wrote. “We must take action that allows the university to continue delivering on its mission while at the same time securing our financial future."

Until now, SU had declined to detail the impact of the pandemic on its finances.

Syverud hinted at the cutbacks in a letter to the campus community Thursday, in which he said the university would have to take “bold actions” to respond to the financial stress caused by the pandemic.

The chancellor said SU is preparing multiple plans for the fall under the assumption that on-campus learning could resume.

The university closed its campus and switched to online classes after spring break when the novel coronavirus began to spread across the United States.

The virus has cost Central New York colleges and universities tens of millions of dollars, forcing schools to dip into their reserves and cut expenses.

The schools refunded millions of dollars in room, board and fees to students who switched to online classes. The steep drop in the stock market has also stressed colleges who use their endowments to help offset operating expenses.

RELATED: Coronavirus in CNY: Colleges, universities refund money, feel financial pain

Le Moyne College said its endowment declined from a high of $215 million to a low of $160 million last month when the market bottomed out.

SU has declined to provide details about the impact of the stock market decline on its $1.35 billion endowment.

The university received a $9.9 million emergency aid grant from the federal government to help it through the financial crisis.

The federal aid is from the $9.5 billion Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. About half of the money must be granted to students as emergency financial aid. Congress included the aid in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill approved in late March.

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