Ohio University faculty warned that decreasing compensation paired with increasing enrollment could cripple academic quality, but did not request any specific action from the Board of Trustees Friday.
Faculty Senate Chairman Joe McLaughlin listed faculty compensation, the number of tenure-track faculty, the quality of the student body and support for research as the top four faculty priorities in a presentation to the trustees at their quarterly meeting.
He said that while faculty appreciate the salary raises over the past two years, they are concerned that faculty compensation is no longer at or near the top of university priorities.
Faculty will not receive salary increases this year, and must pay increased deductibles and co-pays, but received a 9 percent decrease in health care premiums.
Compensation is a cornerstone of morale
and it would be a big mistake to underestimate the impact of morale on the quality of education we provide McLaughlin said.
Salary freezes coupled with increased out-of-pocket expenses means a pay cut for faculty and staff, McLaughlin said, adding that lower priority initiatives such as athletics have received increased funding while faculty, administrative and classified staff salaries have not.
Salaries are a top priority and will remain so said Bill Decatur, vice president of finance and administration. I think it was clearly stated that (a zero percent raise) should be seen as a pause in pursuit of (Vision Ohio) goals
not a change in them.
McLaughlin also asked that the board consider the cost of enrollment growth.
OU's English department was forced to add 35 freshman and junior English sections when enrollment increased substantially a few years ago, but the department was only able to hire less than 2 non-permanent faculty members to teach the courses, McLaughlin said.
OU has replaced retiring tenured faculty with part-time professors who may not be as committed to the university, McLaughlin said, adding that the number of tenured faculty in College of Arts and Sciences has decreased by 10 percent - 31 faculty members - during the past three years.
Members of the board and university officials in attendance agreed that OU needs to grow both in enrollment numbers and quality of applicants.
We want to have more students
who are also really successful
Decatur said.
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Caitlin Bowling
