Faculty salaries to increase
By Nate Swinton
University faculty and staff will receive an increase in salaries and benefits for the year 2002-2003.
All staff and faculty will be eligible for merit-based pay increases, according to the University's budget for the upcoming year, which was approved last week and allocated $3.1 million for salary increases. In addition, the university will pay higher premiums for health and medical benefits and increase its contribution to 401(k) retirement accounts.
These increases are intended to help retain current staff and faculty and also attract new employees to the university, said Director of Media Relations, Barry Holtzclaw.
"We want to remain competitive so that we can continue to attract good employees both on the faculty and staff side," he said.
"We are committed to improving the learning environment for students by attracting and keeping outstanding faculty and staff," Robert Warren, vice president of administration and finance said in a press release.
In addition to increasing salaries and benefits, the new budget aims to establish information technology reserves, keep tuition rates low and provide as many students as possible with financial aid packages.
Tuition increases for next year are expected to be six percent for undergraduate students, four percent for graduate students, and seven percent for law students.
Student tuition funds approximately 75 percent of the school's budget, with the other 25 percent coming largely from endowments.
David Caldwell chaired the 11-member Budget Advisory Committee that presented budget information and issues to University President Father Locatelli before the final budget was approved by the Board of Trustees. He said that while the new budget addresses concerns that are "very important," other projects in need of financing, such as some technological improvements and library renovation, were not covered.
"There just isn't enough money to support all of the quality things we do," he said. "There's a whole range of little projects across a variety of places. A lot of hard choices had to be made."
Caldwell said this lack of funding comes from the conservative planning of the budget. University finance forecasters expect fewer endowment donations due to the Sept. 11 attacks and the economic slowdown.
As a result, budget planners chose to make one of their top priorities addressing the needs of faculty and staff.
Some University employees have left the school in recent years due to the availability of higher paying jobs in the area, said Budget Director Dennis Roberts.
"There were many departments coming to Human Resources and saying they're having trouble filling this position at this rate," he said.
And though the University cannot match the base salaries of many companies in Silicon Valley, Roberts said they try to offer "total compensation," often in the form of housing aid and other benefits.
"We don't look to be the highest paying employer around and we don't think we can be," he said. "Our goal is to be competitive."
Santa Clara's total operating budget for next year is $215 million.