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The top positions at the University of Arizona's two medical school campuses will remain unfilled, officials finalizing the details of a hiring freeze have announced.

Initially, officials had said the freeze — which leaves open any position funded by state tax dollars or UA money, including tuition — wouldn't apply to several dean openings, including those at the College of Medicine's Tucson and Phoenix campuses.

However, it turns out the medical school positions weren't posted publicly before the freeze was announced, meaning they won't be filled anytime soon.

Both campuses now have interim deans.

While the deanships in the medical school will remain open, two other colleges — law and nursing — will be able to search and hire for deans as they had planned.

The UA will fill those open dean positions because they were made public before the freeze, said Johnny Cruz, university spokesman.

UA President Robert Shelton and Provost Meredith Hay announced the freeze in an Oct. 10 memo to the campus community, citing the economic downturn and the possibility that a growing state budget deficit could lead to further university cuts.

The memo also called for any expense or contract topping $50,000 to be reviewed by the provost's office.

Officials estimate that the freeze affects about 180 positions on campus, though they don't say how much money the action will save.

Despite the freeze, the UA still has about 180 positions that will remain open. Those positions, however, aren't paid for by state tax dollars and include jobs such as research positions funded through grants or openings at financially independent departments, such as athletics.

Also, a small number of part-time positions, teacher-assistant openings and lecture jobs will be filled as planned.

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.