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University staff share concerns about morale, compensation

Apr. 14, 2015 11:56 pm
Representatives for professional and scientific staff at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa report lagging morale and concerns about compensation levels, and they're asking the state Board of Regents for more support.
'Increased pressures have had a noticeable impact on morale,” according to a written statement from ISU's Professional and Scientific Council provided to the Board of Regents in advance of its meeting next week. 'There are two main options to fight this lagging morale: staffing increases across the university, and salary increases.”
The board during its April 22-23 meeting will hear presentations from several groups of faculty and staff that are not organized for the purpose of collective bargaining. Representatives have been invited to address salary policies for the upcoming budget year.
Amy Harris-Tehan, president of the ISU council that represents more than 2,800 employees, said in her statement that evidence of low morale exists in the turnover rate for professional and scientific staff. More than 55 percent of employees who left the university in the 2014 budget year had been on campus fewer than five years, she said in the statement provided to regents.
'Professional and scientific staff are asking today that the Board of Regents seek funding that would minimize market inequities and acknowledge the outstanding work and tireless dedication of staff,” Harris-Tehan said.
The need has been exacerbated by the campus' unprecedented growth, she said in the statement.
'Professional and scientific staffing levels have also increased, but not proportionate to the enrollment increases or the hiring rate of faculty,” according to the statement. 'Staff across the university are being asked to support more students, faculty, and research than ever before.”
Jean Wiesley, president of UNI's Professional and Scientific Council, said in a pre-released statement that her constituents have had concerns about a 'lack of transparency” related to the distribution of raises.
'Salaries, and in particular the pay matrix, continue to be of concern,” according to Wiesley.
UNI administrators have shared a desire to conduct a 'comprehensive compensation/classification study,” Wiesley said in the statement. They have not, however, provided a time frame for when that might happen, but Wiesley said officials last week said a request for proposals related to the study is being written.
'We appreciate the continued hard work by the Board of Regents members with efforts to change and increase funding formulas and levels at UNI,” according to the statement.
Tenure report
The board at its meeting next week also will receive a report on faculty tenure. The board will consider approving 209 recommendations for tenure and promotion for the 2015-16 academic year - the most since at least 2011.
According to the report, the number of total faculty across the three public universities has increased every year for the past 13 years. Over the past decade, the average number of tenured faculty members was 2,725, with a low of 2,681 in the current academic year and a high of 2,762 in the 2009-10 academic year.
A Board of Regents meeting at the Iowa Memorial Union on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City on Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2015. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)