In an effort to remain competitive with other top-notch Universities, the University Board of Visitors approved salary increases for faculty and staff for the second consecutive year in an attempt to retain and recruit talented teachers and employees.
Teaching and administrative staff will receive a 2 percent, merit-based raise under the new $1.73 billion budget approved for the 2004-05 fiscal year by the BOV Finance Committee in late May. This raise is in addition to the state's approval of a 3 percent raise earlier last month, effective Nov. 25.
While the 2003-04 fiscal year budget did include salary increases for faculty and staff, University teachers and administrators experienced two to three years without any salary increase, said Colette Sheehy, vice president for management and budget.
This year's decision to increase salaries marks the second phase in a four-year plan to raise compensation for faculty and staff in an effort to remain competitive on a national level.
"I think it's moving in the right direction," Sheehy said. "We aren't quite where we want to be yet, but we have a long-term plan to get where we should be. It's helping us to pay our people competitively so we can retain them and recruit more if we need them."
As a result of last year's merit-based salary increases, the University moved ahead four spots to rank at 24th in faculty salaries among national schools in the American Association of Universities rankings. The Finance Committee approved a resolution to target an AAU ranking of between 15 and 19 by 2006-07.
The salary increase is positive news for faculty and staff in the University's academic departments.
"The prospect of a significant pay raise is the most welcome news we've heard in the College for several years, saidEdward Ayers, dean of Arts and Sciences. "Faculty have been remarkably patient during these hard times and it will be great to see people rewarded for their excellent teaching and research."
In the School of Nursing, similar sentiments were expressed.
"We're in a big hiring mode because we're expanding the enrollment in our school," School of Nursing Dean Jeanette Lancaster said. "The salary increase is helpful because the kind of people we want to recruit and the people we want here are going to have offers elsewhere. We want to be competitive."
The 2004-05 salary increases are expected to cost about $2.2 million. This fall's tuition increase is expected to cover $1.3 million, with another $900,000 in private funds to cover the balance before additional tuition funds cover it next fall. The $1.73 billion budget must be approved by the full BOV at its meeting on June 11, and is scheduled to take effect July 1.
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