Spring Break
Administration says faculty retention is top priority
Matt Cook
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Campus News
Proposed salary increases and incentive packages are two ways UT Martin's administration says it is working to retain faculty members.
Dr. Jerald Ogg, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, said that faculty leave the university for different reasons including personal reasons, opportunities to make more money at other institutions and the chance to do more scholarly work with a reduced teaching load.
"I have requested as my top budget priority for this year that we raise the salary increase that accompanies promotion to Associate Professor from $1,500 to 10 percent of the faculty member's base salary," Ogg said.
"Dr. Rakes supports this, and we hope that will send a signal to our younger faculty that 'help is on the way.' It should also make us more competitive with our peers long-term," he said.
Ogg also said an incentives package for faculty who want to devote more time to research agendas is also being reviewed.
"Dr. Rakes started a process last year in which colleges were given additional, university-provided funding to support faculty research, and many of the colleges are using that to hire adjunct faculty to relieve the teaching loads on regular faculty who are engaging in research," Ogg said.
At least 19 searches for faculty are either currently open or have been recently completed this semester.
Agriculture and Natural Resources; Military Science; Accounting, Economics, Finance and International Business; Computer Science and Information Systems; Management, Marketing and Political Science; Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice; Education; Health and Human Performance; Biology; Chemistry; Geology, Geography and Physics; Mathematics; History and Philosophy; and Music have all searched for new faculty.
Ogg said that the university advertises for new faculty in many venues and also relies on current faculty members' knowledge of higher education circles to find the best candidates to recruit.
"Once we get them here for an interview, the deans, department chairs and I talk about not only what we are-an institution characterized by personal, rigorous instruction and collegial relationships-but what we hope, with their help and these new institutional funding commitments, to become," Ogg said.
"I hate that we are losing any faculty, but I am excited about the individuals we are going to be bringing in this fall," Ogg said.
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Technical Editor Charlie McIntosh contributed to this report.
Dr. Jerald Ogg, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, said that faculty leave the university for different reasons including personal reasons, opportunities to make more money at other institutions and the chance to do more scholarly work with a reduced teaching load.
"I have requested as my top budget priority for this year that we raise the salary increase that accompanies promotion to Associate Professor from $1,500 to 10 percent of the faculty member's base salary," Ogg said.
"Dr. Rakes supports this, and we hope that will send a signal to our younger faculty that 'help is on the way.' It should also make us more competitive with our peers long-term," he said.
Ogg also said an incentives package for faculty who want to devote more time to research agendas is also being reviewed.
"Dr. Rakes started a process last year in which colleges were given additional, university-provided funding to support faculty research, and many of the colleges are using that to hire adjunct faculty to relieve the teaching loads on regular faculty who are engaging in research," Ogg said.
At least 19 searches for faculty are either currently open or have been recently completed this semester.
Agriculture and Natural Resources; Military Science; Accounting, Economics, Finance and International Business; Computer Science and Information Systems; Management, Marketing and Political Science; Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice; Education; Health and Human Performance; Biology; Chemistry; Geology, Geography and Physics; Mathematics; History and Philosophy; and Music have all searched for new faculty.
Ogg said that the university advertises for new faculty in many venues and also relies on current faculty members' knowledge of higher education circles to find the best candidates to recruit.
"Once we get them here for an interview, the deans, department chairs and I talk about not only what we are-an institution characterized by personal, rigorous instruction and collegial relationships-but what we hope, with their help and these new institutional funding commitments, to become," Ogg said.
"I hate that we are losing any faculty, but I am excited about the individuals we are going to be bringing in this fall," Ogg said.
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Technical Editor Charlie McIntosh contributed to this report.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Mary
posted 4/24/08 @ 11:40 AM CST
These incentives are great for the younger faculty, but they are excluding the most valuable faculty of all...those with 10 or more years tenure who are loyal and dedicated to UTM and have stayed through 3 or more chancellors, major organizational changes, and the training of all of these exciting new faculty. (Continued…)
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