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The University of Arizona will leave 180 positions unfilled as part of a new hiring freeze, although officials still plan to fill three key positions.

While final details of the freeze are still being worked out, open positions paid by state tax dollars or UA money, including tuition, won't be filled until further notice, according to a memo sent to the campus community on Friday.

However, there are three big exceptions to the order: Officials can fill open dean positions in the nursing college and the Tucson and Phoenix campuses of the UA medical school.

The freeze doesn't apply to positions that aren't funded by state tax money, such as research positions paid for by grants and jobs at financially independent departments on campus, such as athletics.

Additionally, the UA will continue to fill part-time positions, teaching-assistant openings and lecturer jobs, though only a handful are unfilled now.

The freeze was announced late Friday afternoon after months of budgetary concerns at the UA. During the summer, the state asked the university to cut $20 million from its budget, prompting UA President Robert Shelton to call for a major shake-up in how the institution conducts its operations.

In total, the UA had close to 370 total open positions on Monday, said Allison Vaillancourt, the university's vice president of human resources.

Of those, roughly half aren't affected by the freeze because they are funded by research grants or other sources, Vaillancourt said. The remaining 180 positions that are funded by state tax money or local sources will remain open indefinitely.

How much money the freeze will save the university is unclear, Vaillancourt said.

The UA employs roughly 14,600 full- and part-time faculty members, staffers and administrators, according to UA figures. The university has an estimated economic impact of more than $2.3 billion annually and is Southern Arizona's third-largest employer.

In the Friday memo, Shelton, Provost Meredith Hay and Joel Valdez, the senior vice president for business affairs, said the economic downturn and lower-than-expected state tax revenue led to the hiring freeze.

On top of freezing certain open positions, the memo called for any UA contract or expense topping $50,000 that uses state money to be reviewed by administrators, following a similar process instituted for all state agencies.

The latest move follows a partial hiring freeze in February that held open all non-critical positions, with the UA still filling a few faculty openings.

Shelton confirmed during the weekend that Friday's freeze was an attempt to show state leaders that campus officials are watching the UA's bottom line.

Regents President Fred Boice said the freeze is unfortunate, but it's a much-needed step to help ease budget concerns.

"You have to lead by example," he said. "Everybody's trying really hard to keep costs down."

Randy Livingston, a UA employee and president of the staff advisory council, said he trusted the move made by campus leaders.

"Staff members are working hard to make the university run and support whatever is necessary," he said.

As the UA moves to stop some hiring, there is talk at the Legislature that the state budget will have to be trimmed further, possibly adding on to the $20 million in cuts the institution was asked to make during the summer.

Next year's state budget doesn't look much better, with early projections indicating a potential $1 billion deficit.

The budget concerns prompted a legislative committee to put off reviewing several university construction projects, including $1 billion for new buildings and maintenance at all three state universities.

The move upset Shelton, as some projects before the committee wouldn't use tax money.