A proposal from the University Committee on Faculty Affairs to increase faculty salaries and incentives for the 2012-13 academic year is making its way through academic governance to help MSU faculty regain their former position among those of fellow Big Ten institutions.
For each of the past two years, MSU has ranked 10th in the Big Ten in terms of average faculty salaries, according to data from the Office of Planning and Budgets. But MSU prefers to remain in the middle of the pack, Faculty Senate chairman John Powell said.
“Our objectives have always been to keep the faculty as near the median as we can,” Powell said, adding competitive salaries are needed to retain quality faculty.
The 2012-13 proposal calls for a 3 percent increase in the general faculty merit pool and a 1 percent increase in the market adjustment pool.
Powell said the merit pool is distributed differently by each college to provide financial incentives and salary raises for its faculty, while the market pool is used to help retain faculty members through market adjustments needed to stay competitive.
Powell said the fluctuation in rankings could be attributed to differences in state-level funding for other Big Ten institutions, among other things.
“In general, you have to think about it from the standpoint that universities in different states have different mechanisms from which they get general fund budgets from the state,” he said.
What do you think of MSU’s faculty salary standings in the Big Ten?
Brian Watson
criminal justice senior
“That’s not OK, and as MSU tries to become a better research institution, which they’re trying to be, I think they should pay their teachers more (and) attract better talent.”
Rebecca Leefers
instructor of mathematics
“MSU’s been near the bottom for a long time, so I think something should be done. But it’s tough without state funds coming in the way they used to and all that. Then you see how some of the money’s being spent and you say ‘Well, maybe it should go more (toward) professors.’”
Haley Bockhorn
James Madison freshman
“I think we have really good teachers here. I think they deserve to make more. I don’t know how much they make, but they’re pretty good, so it surprises me that they’re 10th.”
James Nelson
professor of philosophy
“I think that we can compete adequately for the kind of talent we want if we’re in the middle of the ranks. I’d like to see us in the top half (of the rankings), but I don’t think we have to be where (the University of) Michigan is. I don’t think we have to be where Northwestern (University) is.”
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