Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Nathyn D. Gibson The "special market adjustment" plan will ensure that 111 faculty members will be recieving raises in response to a study that was conducted by the Facultiy Salary Subcommittee.

Peggy Gerard, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, announced in a memorandum April 3 that 111 faculty members will receive raises as part of a "special market adjustment" plan.

The recipients were identified in a 2007 study conducted by the Faculty Salary Subcommittee. The subcommittee analyzed the faculty pay scales of 264 masters-granting public universities in the United States and determined an average salary for each faculty position in each department.

The study focused on 206 PUC faculty members. The faculty members were then compared to other faculty members in similar positions in other colleges.

According to the results of the study, PUC's faculty members were paid less than the national average in nearly every department. About 170 faculty members' salaries were below the national average, while 12 members were above the national average.

"A variety of factors both outside and inside the institution have historically led us to this point," Robert Rivers, chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Academic Leadership Team said.

On average, the salaries of professors of engineering technologies and technicians were $70,631. On the other hand, the national salary average was $78,089.

Professors of psychology made, on average, $93,400 at PUC. The national average was $76,126.

Raising the salaries of faculty members has been a concern identified in the November 2001 Strategic Plan.

"The University leadership needed time to conduct formal benchmarking studies of salaries for clerical employees, professional and administrative employees and faculty members to determine if market adjustments were needed and if so, to obtain estimates of the overall cost of adjustments," Gerard said.

Adjustments are made on a merit based system. Faculty members must be below the median to be considered for an adjustment. In addition, faculty members must have recieved at least a 2 percent average raise in the past three years.

"For example, a faculty member who received a 2 percent raise in 2005, a 2.5 percent raise in 2007 and a 1.8 percent raise in 2006, would have an average percentage increase of 2.1 over those three years," Gerard said.Catherine Gillotti, professor of Communication and Creative Arts, said she was pleased about the salary raises.

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