University Governance
TO: Faculty Senate, Molly Mulloy, Nancy Kinnersley
FROM: Henry Bial, Chair of Faculty Compensation Committee
DATE: 4 May 2010
RE: Annual Report of the Faculty Compensation Committee
On September 17, 2009 the Committee received the following charges. The Committee held its first meeting on November 20, 2009. In January, Michael Moody resigned from the Committee in conjunction with his decision to leave KU. At the request of Faculty Senate President Lisa Wolf-Wendel, Henry Bial (Dept. of Theatre) agreed to serve as Chair of the Committee.
STANDING CHARGES
1. Monitor the level and distribution of faculty salaries to identify issues and concerns. Communicate with the Provost’s office concerning faculty needs and desires. Report issues, problems, and recommendation to FacEx (ongoing).
The committee discussed this issue during the meeting in November. The continuing fiscal difficulties raise a number of issues. Of concern is the potential long-term cumulative harm that a year with zero salary increases, or even cuts, is to all members of the faculty and also the University. Given the deteriorating fiscal situation, should there be a plan in place to retain faculty that are approached by other institutions? If there is a plan that faculty know about, it could alleviate some anxiety surrounding the uncertainty of losing colleagues.
2. Continue the cooperative communication between the Chairs of the Planning and Resources and Faculty Compensation committees to facilitate coordination on issues of mutual concern. Report issues and recommendations to FacEx (ongoing).
Of note from our communication with the Planning and Resources Committee is the potential for furloughs. One suggested course of action for our committee was to endorse the idea of graduated furloughs.
SPECIFIC CHARGES
1. Review Initiative 2015. Specifically, consider “Discovering and Innovating” Recommendation #6 which proposes development of broader set of standards and metrics as the basis for recognizing, acknowledging, and rewarding faculty for discovery and innovation, and “Working for Kansas” recommendation #1 to expand the reward system for service to Kansas. Report any concerns or recommendations to FacEx (ongoing).
With respect to"Discovering and Innovating" Recommendation #6
Our main concern centered around providing the proper incentives. There were two key suggestions that we thought would move us in the right direction.
1. For faculty members that receive outside funding, find a way to increase the amount that is actually available to the PI.
2. Place emphasize impact of research instead of dollars awarded for research.
With respect to "Working for Kansas"
Recommendation #1:
This represents an opportunity to engage in KS broadly. While engagement should be encouraged any formal requirements should take into account relative faculty sizes. Recommendations:
- Think of alternate ways to promote service to Kansas within the Blue Form
- Competitive grant process for projects designed to serve Kansas.
The target amount should be sufficient to cover the cost of a lecturer for 1 course reduction. This money could go to the faculty member for their project or could be used to hire a lecturer.
Another incentive could be provided through additional money for GTA/GRA support for grant recipients
-Think about creating an endowment (through the upcoming capital campaign) to support activities that serve Kansas. This would need to be large enough to support faculty with projects in Western Kansas.