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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1989)
I Raises increase competition i UNL hopes to shrink salary gap I ny wimam u. uaroma Staff Reporter Approved faculty raises should make the University of Nebraska-Lincoln more com petitive when hiring professors, helping pre pare the institution for a predicted faculty shortage, a UNL official said. Robert Furgason, vice chancellor for aca demic affairs, said the raises UNL faculty will receive this year are intended to close the salary gap between UNL and its peer institu tions. Faculty members at UNL received an aver age 11.5 percent raise for fiscal year 1989 1990. Furgason said comparatively low raises before last year’s 11 percent raise caused UNL to “slip behind fairly significantly’’ in faculty I salaries. UNL faculty received raises of 3 percent during the 1985-1986 and 1986-1987 fiscal years, and 4 percent during the 1987-1988 fiscal year. During the same lime, UNL’s peer institutions gave an average 6 percent raise. The 11.5 percent merit-based raise is nearly double the estimated 6.7 percent raise expected at UNL’s peer institutions. Furgason said the raise must be at that high level to make up for the lost ground during past years. Furgason said UNL already is becoming more competitive with its peers as a result of the salary initiative. Faculty morale in general is very good, he said, which keeps current faculty members from looking elsewhere. UNL’s first priority is to keep faculty, Furgason said. Other evidence of increased competitive ness, he said, is in the hiring success this year. John Peters, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, said he has hired 40 new faculty members. Peters said he was especially im pressed with the qualifications of these new faculty members. He said he believed the fac ulty raises contributed to their hiring. Furgason said that in past years, UNL often had to hire its third choice for a position. But this year the rate of jobs accepted by UNL’s First choice is close to two-thirds, he said. This is significant, Furgason said, because a university’s hiring success determines its fu ture. The faculty hired now will lessen the impact of the predicted faculty shortage in the next decade, he said. Furgason said a faculty shortage would cause very intense competition for the best qualified professors. When the faculty short age arrives, he said, it will be much more difficult to catch up with peer institutions and be competitive for the best. ‘‘I think what is very, very important is posturing for the future - getting in the posi tion to be able to stay competitive for the future,” Furgason said. All raises received by UNL faculty mem bers lire merit-based, Furgason said. Merit, he said, is determined differently in each college but generally is based on teaching perform ance, research and service. Furgason said this year’s raise is the second step in a three-year plan intended to bring UNL faculty salaries up to a level near that of peer institutions. Gov, Kay Orr and legislative leaders dem onstrated a commitment to the university, Furgason said, by approving the three-year initiative, which includes another 11.5 percent raise for next year. This year’s 11.5 percent raise cost $7.3 million, Furgason said, but figures on how many faculty members received raises still arc pending. He said Chancellor Martin Massengale agreed to use 3 percent of the 11.5 percent to resolve inequity issues, such as salary com pression and salary inversion. Salary compression happens when the sal ary of an entry-level faculty member is unusu ally close to that of an established faculty member. Salary inversion happens when the starting salary of an entry-level faculty member is above the salary of an established faculty member. John Benson, director of Institutional Re search, Planning and Fiscal Analysis, said the UNL staff members also received a raise. The staff is divided into two classifications: mana gerial/profcssional and office service/clerical. An average 8.22 percent raise was given to the managerial/professional staff with 2.81 percent allotted for equity adjustments. The office service/clcrical staff received an average 10.43 percent raise with 4 percent for equity adjustments. I ' FOR LOW PRICES ON ALL YOUR GROCERY NEEDS...SHOP econofoods! At econofoods, it has always been our commitment to do everything we can to help you save money. At the same time we bring you the best possible quality, variety, and freshness. So shop econofoods where you get warehouse prices and a full service store. 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