[phas-faculty_staff_others] News for the Senate

[Kurtis Williams]

Thank you, Carlos!

Just to clarify concerning the 3%  merit pool:

The merit raise you received last fall was fully funded by the system.

The state mandated a 3% merit raise again for Fall 2024. The system did not provide fundin for this raise.  The president had reserved 1.5 % of the budget for such a case, but each part of the university was asked to find the remaining 1.5%.  Dean Graham found he College’s 1.5% in salary savigs - funds allocated to pay salaries, but due to retirements or reassignments they were not being expended.  For example, I earn less than Kent did, so the pot of money that was allocated for department head salaries had extra money.  There is still enough money to fund our two faculty hires, and the money given back will come right back to us for merit raises.  So, there will be no impact to our budgets for the next year.

Also,  None of our giveback will go to other divisions, such as administration or athletics.  All College of science and engineering money is coming back to the CoSE for merit raises for our faculty.  

No discussion for 2025-26 merit pool has been had on the university. The provost has made it clear that she has let the president know that further unfunded merit raises are not feasible with our budget, and the system has not announced any merit pool, funded or not, for that time yet.  

Also, it is a matter of public record - the provost only received a 3% merit raise last year, compared to much larger raises for other VPs.  The dean and associate dean received larger maerit raises than this, but remember that o5e dean had gone from interim to full dean, so her raise was really reflecting her promotion. and the associate dean was also a promotion.

Finally, to verify, our department will have a 3% merit pool but I have not received any paperwork or instructions on that yet.  However, since the pool will be for raises in the fall, it is early yet.  I consider merit raises a private matter, so when they are set I will inform you of your amount but not of other people’s amounts.  If you really want to know, salaries are public information and can be found online (though these amounts tend to include summer salary and can include reimbursements for travel).

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about this.

Cheers,
Kurtis

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 6, 2024, at 23:33, Carlos Bertulani <Carlos.Bertulani at tamuc.edu> wrote:
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> The Senate convened today for an extended session lasting over two hours. Here is a brief summary of the key highlights:
> 
> 1- Dr. Ricky Dobbs, our SACS Accreditation liaison, engaged senators in a discussion lasting nearly an hour. The debate touched upon several crucial points:
> (a) Ricky disclosed that out of hundreds of items, SACS returned 18 to the university due to non-compliance.
> (b) Academic freedom was a central topic, and I've asked how the university could demonstrate its commitment to academic freedom. Ricky suggested resolving litigations with students, staff, or faculty as one indicator.
> (c) Concerns were raised about the proliferation of Vice Presidents (VPs) who seemed disconnected from the faculty, prompting a senator to express frustration about unanswered emails and complaints.
> (d) Senators commended Ricky's dedication and competence, acknowledging him as one of the hardest-working members of the upper administration.
> (e) Criticism surfaced about the high salaries of VPs ($250,000), suggesting that the funds allocated to them could be better utilized for hiring faculty or addressing budgetary challenges.
> 
> 2- Dr. Alex Williams and Mr. Jim Curry presented insights on faculty interactions with athletes:
> (a) Faculty were advised to accommodate athletes' class absences at the request of the Athletics Department, with no added difficulty in makeup exams.
> (b) Mental health challenges among athletes were highlighted, urging faculty understanding when athletes struggled academically.
> (c) Criteria for athlete acceptance were shared, indicating GPA requirements for each academic year. They should have at least 1.8/1.9/2.0 GPA for first/second/third year.
> (d) But then, Dr. Curry presented positive academic achievements among athletes, boasting a 3.08 GPA average in the past year.
> 
> 3- Department Heads:
> Extensive discussion revolved around the evaluation of Department Heads, with notable faculty interest. Some senators are actively participating in the revision of Tenure and Promotion (T&P) and department head policies.
> 
> 4- Merit Raises:
> (a) Despite a consensus for a 3% merit pool, the university only allocated 1.5% or $400,000. Senators discussed the idea of sourcing the remaining 1.5% from department heads. They said that the university will ask back $2,000 from each department operating fund. I guess we would need 200 departments get accumulate 400k.
> (b) Discontent arose regarding a 30% increase in VP salaries, leaving insufficient funds for faculty raises. The Senate President proposed inviting Dr. Rudin to clarify this matter.
> (c) Senators were encouraged by the senate president to inquire about colleagues' merit raises within departments to take action if disparities were observed. I said that we do not go around in our department asking how much a colleague got in merit raises (*). But apparently some faculty do in other places.
> (*) I confess that I did this once, but instead of asking, I’ve spontaneously told two of my colleagues in the department that I got a larger merit raise than average. It did not end up well for me, but for my colleagues.  
> (d) The faculty merit pool situation will be even worse next year, according to rumors circulated in the senate.
> (e) A proposal emerged for faculty to have the ability to remove certain VPs, emphasizing the need for academic freedom and VP evaluations.
> (f) Someone claimed that Deans, VPs, and up, do whatever they want. In my opinion, the discussion could have wisely been stopped at this point.
> (g) . . . I will send you the minutes when I get them. But I guess much of what I wrote above will not be written down. I am sorry.
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