Approved statement looks at spending, instructional capacity
Mar 17, 2010
From staff reports

On Monday night during its March meeting, Faculty Senate approved a short statement that opposes the Budget Planning Council’s (BPC) March 12 proposal that employees receive a 1 percent raise instead of a 2 percent raise.

The statement, which was approved by a majority of the senate, was derived from a draft put forth by Steve Hays, associate professor of classics and world religions.

Aside from rejecting the BPC's raise recommendation, the senate also wrote that it would stay opposed to the idea until university administration works with the senate to produce an analysis of the university's financial and organizational structure that would result in dramatic cost reductions in non-core, non-revenue-producing functions.

 The senate's statement listed Intercollegiate Athletics and non-academic administrative growth as two of those functions.

The Hays statement was approved after the senate debated a draft of an initial statement that endorsed the BPC’s suggested measure.  The first statement was eventually voted down by the senate.

Although Hays' statement aims to protect the 2 percent raise pool, senate chair Joe McLaughlin said the senate was not motivated by money.

"This is not about greed," McLaughlin said. "This is about the long-term health of the university."

Many senators expressed concerns about the university's ability to attract and maintain faculty if the raise pool was set at 1 percent.
Duane McDiarmid, chair of sculpture and associate professor of fine arts, worried that if passed, the impact of the first proposal would be unevenly distributed.

"Let's have it be staggered or progressive. If we're going to take cuts, let's make a minor change to that policy," he said.

The possibility of lowering the 2 percent raise pool to a 1 percent raise pool was brought up during the budget forums held by Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit and Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Mike Angelini.

BPC said in a recent meeting that the university could save approximately $1.6 million by reducing the raise pool to 1 percent. Benoit proposed that $1 million of that money go toward protecting instructional capacity, maintaining Group 2,3 and 4 faculty positions, and that $600,000 be put toward scholarships for the university's neediest students. 

Related Links:
Faculty Senate
Budget Planning Council