Pay issue on FS agenda

By Brian Slupski

Many issues, including a resolution calling for a change in the priorities of faculty pay increases, are scheduled for discussion Wednesday at the Faculty Senate meeting.

The resolution, which is being introduced by the Committee on the Economic Status of the Profession, calls for a written plan to outline “across-the-board” faculty salary increases, which would “restore purchasing power and maintain cost-of-living increases in faculty salaries.”

Executive Secretary of the University Council J. Carroll Moody said an across-the-board raise means all the professors receive a certain percentage pay increase. Sometimes there has been a combination of across-the-board raises and raises of merit, Moody said.

A merit raise is a bonus given to professors based on their evaluations done by each department. A professor with a high merit might receive an across-the-board raise with the other faculty and then get another raise based on their merit.

The across-the-board raises have not been able to keep up with inflation, and this has caused a loss of purchasing power among the faculty.

Moody said the present resolution is “the Faculty Senate taking a position on how the money might be distributed.”

Moody added the resolution seems to want a redefining of priorities, away from merit raises and more concern for across-the-board raises with the hopes of getting some of the lost purchasing power back for all faculty.

Another resolution which will come before the senate is calling for the evaluation of the chancellor’s office.

Moody said the resolution will ask for the evaluation of the chancellor’s office to determine whether it is justified.

Law Professor Rodolphe de Seife, who is introducing the resolution, said everyone is “scrutinized for productivity,” and the chancellor’s office also should be subject to such scrutinization.

In an unrelated issue, Moody will address the senate on the present state of an early retirement plan for state university employees.

He said he received a letter from the House of Representatives Minority Leader Lee A. Daniels which said the State University Retirement System (SURS), the faculty’s retirement system, would not be added to an early retirement plan which another state retirement system received.

However, since the letter, legislation has been introduced which would include SURS under the early retirement plan already in effect, Moody said.