The university announced plans to raise faculty salaries by 12 percent over the next three years as a part of an initiative called "Compete Missouri." Officials hope it will encourage competition and help keep the best and brightest professors.

It's going to take at least seven million dollars each year to make that happen and The hiring freeze is the first step in saving money.

University programs that generate revenue on its own are exempt from the hiring freeze, including places like the University Bookstore, the athletic department, and University Hospital and Clinics.

MU leaders say there are fewer sources of revenue since the legislature created a tuition cap. Chancellor Brady Deaton hopes directing university money differently will make MU a more desirable university for quality faculty.

"We need additional resources, given the low salary levels that we have fallen to among our faculty. So, we are simply trying to turn around. It hit hard this year as we saw the changes that were occurring and we saw the competition," he said. 

Chancellor Deaton admits MU struggles with faculty retention, and the university is considered one of the lowest paying major institutions in the country. The reputation makes it hard to hire top professors and researchers.

"You can always hire someone, but we want to hire the best because we feel that's what the students at MU deserve," said Deaton. 

Faculty, staff and students spent the last few months looking for ways to save money, and the plan included some of those ideas. These include library consolidation, merging similar fields of study and giving staff the chance to move to  9 month appointments. Deaton says no one will lose a job in this effort to save money.