Salary raises for faculty, outlined as one of the reasons for this fall’s tuition hike, will not occur.
UH President Renu Khator attempted to justify the decision by saying the economic downturn has affected UH’s campaign for capital in a negative way at Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting.
‘Coming up with a capital campaign right now would be so insensitive to the donors that are still hurting,’ Khator said.
The staff and faculty earning below $50,000 will receive a mere one-time bonus of $300, but UH is looking to give target raises to the most productive faculty.
‘To help keep its faculty, UH will do its best to keep salaries competitive with the teaching market for assistant and associate professors as they are promoted,’ Provost John Antel said.
Antel also said administrative staff also won’t receive raises.
Antel said he is positive UH can hire faculty to support the 4 percent enrollment growth and double digit increases in doctoral students and graduate students’ hours.
Antel discussed the UH System budget, including the recent gain and loss of $10 million from the state legislature.
Antel said the $10 million lost went toward endowments for scholarships, operational costs and faculty support. The $10 million received is one-time stimulus package money from the state.
‘The state really came through for us,’ Antel said. ‘Compared to the rest of the country, we did really well. We are trying to do some construction, fix some facilities and do things like that.’
Faculty Senate also addressed graduation rates, something Khator said she wants to improve.
‘We are 10 points below the graduation rate of universities that are like us,’ Khator said. ‘So that doesn’t speak very well for us.’
Khator said she wants to increase admission standards to improve graduation rates. She said changes in admission will be addressed in November.
‘It’s about who has the chance to be successful here,’ Khator said. ‘We aren’t doing anybody any favors when we admit everybody and 26 of them disappear because they left so disillusioned. That isn’t the right setting for them.’
She also said UH’s flagship status will be decided by many factors, including the quality of faculty and freshmen courses.
Khator said she wants to work toward spending money on programs that could attract scholars and students to UH.
‘I want the students to graduate from here feeling they’re really graduating from a powerhouse,’ she said.
Khator also praised the faculty for their hard work and commitment to students.
‘If there were to be a national award, I think it would be for the Faculty Senate here,’ Khator said. ‘I just don’t think there are many universities that faculty senates are focused on student success with the same enthusiasm and zeal.’
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