FacultySenateMeeting
February24,2014
McCormickRoom,Library
FacultySenateMembersPresent
KrisztaKotsis,HaleyAndres,LeslieSaucedo,CynthiaGibson,ArielaTubert,Amanda
Mifflin,AndrewGardner,AndreaKueter,JonathanStockdale,SunilKukreja,Alisa
Kessel,NilaWiese,BradDillman(Chair),MariaSampen,DerekBuescher,Mike
Segawa
Guests
MattWarning,DavidSousa,DougCannon,StevenNeshyba
ChairBradDillmancalledthemeetingtoorderat4:02notingtheFacultySalary
Committee(FSC)memberspresent.
Announcements
FSCmeetingat5:00pminThompson395onThursdayMarch6encourageallnon‐
administrativefacultytocomeand/orsharecommentsviaemailtoMattWarning.
NilaWiesenotedthatinvitationstoPreludewentoutlastweek.Sheaskedthose
presenttoencouragenewcolleaguestoparticipate.
ApprovalofMinutes
MinutesofJanuary27werepostedwithafactualerror.Thelinewasthe“BTF
recommendedatuitionincreaseof3.4%buttheactualrecommendationwas
3.75%.”Dillmannotedthatasafactualcorrectionwecouldentertainamotionto
changethefact.Tubertnotedasecondamountthatmaybeincorrect.MSPtoamend
toseekconfirmationofbothitems,correctforfactualerrors,andrepostthe
minutes.
MSPtoapprovetheminutesofFebruary10,2014
LiaisonReports
SampennotedtheUECisworkingonapplicationsfor2014‐15facultyreleaseunits
aswellasTrimbleresearchawardsforfacultyandstudents.TheUECisalso
updatingthefacultyresourcespage.
MifflinbroughtadraftofreportofStudentLifeCommitteetotheSenate.IntheFall
term,theSLCfocusedoncharges1,3,and4includingthesexualassaultworking
groupcharge,programmaticinitiativesofCommencementHall,andtheevaluation
ofCHWS.Theyfoundthesexualassaultpolicyshouldnotbeimplemented,asthey
areunclearonthepolicyandhowthepolicywouldrelatetoexistingpoliciesasa
potentialduplicationofthosepolicies.Theyfoundtheydidnothaveenoughdatato
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completethechargewithCHWSandtheymaderecommendationsonhowto
completethechargeinthefuture.Thissemestertheyareworkingonfinalcharges.
Kesselaskedafollow‐uptotheSLCcommitteereportandthewordingofthecharge
regardingtheevaluationofCHWS.Thechargeisincludedinpriormeetingminutes.
Mifflinreportedthecommitteereporteditdidnothaveenoughdatatocompletethe
chargeandthecommitteerecommendedthatthefacultysenatecreateanadhoc
committeetoreviewtheefficacyandfunctionofCHWS.Wiesenotedthatthe
committeecouldundertakedatacollectionandthatdatashouldbeavailablefrom
priorSLCcommitteework.CHWSreportsthatpotentiallylowernumbersof
studentsusingCHWSservicesmaybedoinparttonewfeesbutSLCindicatesthat
causalfactorsofusedeclinearenotcapableofbeingteasedoutofcurrentdata.The
SLCcommitteeindicatedthatthehealthcarecostswerebeyondthecommittee’s
scope.WithrespecttostaffingofCHWStheyindicatedtheyhadpartialdataonneed
andcouldnotfullyassessthestaffingbutthatafullevaluationofCHWScould
undertakethis.SampenaskedifDeanofStudentsSegawamightbeabletoassist
withsomeoftheseitems.SampenaskediftherewasamemberofCHWSontheSLC.
KotsisprovidedanupdateonLMIS.Thecommitteediscussedtheuseofelectronic
evaluationfilesandcourseevaluations.TheyarelookingatMoodlebutthereare
significantITissueswithmakingtheprocessanonymousandsecure.Theywould
likeapolicyinplacemovingforwardsothatprogrammersmayimplement
electronicevaluations.TheyareworkingwithPSC.TheyalsodiscussedTurn‐it‐in,
providingnumbersoffacultyusing.TheyarelookingatWedat4andorientation
inclusionstobroadentheuseofTurn‐it‐in.Anewlibraryonlinesystemisduefor
rollout.Thesystemwillrequiretrainingoffacultyonhowtousethesystem.LMIS
isCollaboratingwithlibrarytodevelopdisplaysforfacultyscholarshipsandmore
systematicallycollectingelectronicsubmissionoffacultyscholarship.They
reaffirmedtheywillnoteliminatetheduedatesfornon‐summititems.Stockdale
askedaboutrecentchangestothelibrarywebsiteandwhatthenewrolloutis.
Kotsisnotedwethenewsitehaveauniforminterfacewithamulti‐university
collaboration.KueteraddedthatCollinscatalogueandPugetSoundCATwillno
longerexistandthenewsystemisasharedsystemforall37summitlibrarieswith
muchmorenewstocome.DillmanaskedifthePSCandLMISliketheideaofmoving
towardwithelectronicevaluation.Kotsissaidthiswasnotclear.
AgendaItem:FacultySalaryCommittee
NotingthesignificantworkoftheFSC,Dillmaninvitedthemembersofthe
committeepresenttotalkabouttheirwork.
MattWarning,ChairoftheFSC,beganwithapersonalnarrative.Warningnotedthat
theUniversity’sfacultysalaryscaleisimbalanced:salariesareweightedtowardfull
professorlines.Warningindicatedthisimbalanceinthefacultysalaryscalemay
presentproblemsforbothfaculty(intermsofretirementsavings)andthe
University(intermsofcostandnumbersoffullfacultycomparedtoassistantand
associateranks).Thebackloadedsalaryscaleisdifficulttojustifynotonlyfor
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reasonsofrecruitmentbutalsoforsavingspotential,retirement,etc.Warningnoted
thebackloadedsalaryisalsocomplicatedbyafacultythatisincreasinglyfulland
associate.Whencombinedwiththelargeincreasefromassociatetofullthis
structurecausesfinancialproblemsfortheuniversity.Warningaddedthatlooking
atthescaleovertimeweseeanerosionoftherealvalueofthesalaryscale.
Warningraisedthequestionofhowtheeconomicburdenissharedacrossthe
employeesoftheuniversity,andnotablytheadministration.Oneshockingnumber
isPresidentRonThomas’ssalaryincreaseinone‐year(2011‐12)whichheguessed
couldbeclosetothemedianstaffsalary.Inaddition,theadministrationhasnot
disclosedrecentyearadministrationsalaries.Thisinformationdoesnotbearout
thenarrativeofsharedsacrificeduringthedifficultfinancialtimesbeginningin
2008.
WarningclarifiedthatthehistoryoftheFSCisthattheFSCmakesrecommendations
totheBTFandthereisn’tanecessarycorrelationbetweenthoserecommendations
andtheactualoutcomes.Two‐yearsagotheFSCpresenteditsrecommendationand
wastoldbytheVPofFinanceandstaff“thisishowmuchtuitionwewouldneedto
increasetoimplementthisrecommendation.”Warningnotedthatthisassumesa
properorderingofpriorities,apointmadeearlierbySousa.
Sampenaskedforclarificationinthedifferencebetweenbaseandtotal
compensation.DougCannonnoteditislikelydeferredcompensation.
Sousa,addingtothehistory,notedthattherewasanadjustmentofthescale,
slightly,infavorofassistantprofessorsinthe1990s,andatsomepointafterthat
thescalewasreadjustedwithatilttowardthefullprofessorrank.Inthemid1980s
therewasacleargoalforfacultysalariestobeatthetopoftheNWpeerinstitutions
andequivalentwithaspiringinstitutions.Butthatgoalisnowgone.Nowweseea
flatfacultysalaryscale,anerosionofbenefits,andanincreasingadministration
compensationscale.Inlightoftheseissues,SousanotedtheFSChasmadesimple
recommendationsincludedintheNovember15,2013memorandumtotheBudget
TaskForce(seeappendix).
Stockdalethankedthecommitteefortheirworkandaskedifthecommitteehasonly
beenmetwithstonewallingconcerningtransparencyofadministrativesalariesor
hastherebeenabroaderdiscussion.WarningindicatedthatVPMondouprovided
the“executivecompensationphilosophy.”Sincethentheyhavehadnoword.Sousa
indicatedthattheFSChasmetwithKrisBartanenwhohasbeenforthcomingwith
informationonthestructureandmodelingofsalaries,processesofsalary
determination,andaggregatedataregardingadministrativesalaries.
WiesenotedanearlierFSCemailthatshowedcomparisontopeersthatshoweda
markeddifferenceforPugetSoundinrelationtothepeers.
Mifflinaskedifitisadifferentbodythatdeterminesfacultysalariesfrom
administrationsalaries.CannonnotedthattheBTFmakesrecommendationsonthe
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facultyandstaffsalarypoolsandthoserecommendationsareconsideredinrelation
totuitionincomeandincreases.TheDeanthenevaluatestheallocationofthe
academicsalarypool,includingstepsandinflationadjustmentsforfaculty.The
BoardofTrusteesdeterminestheexecutivecompensationpackages.Those
discussionsarewithintheBoardandclosedtotheexecutives.
Sampenasked,withregardtothesalaryscalesofadministrators,iftheFSChasdata
fromotherinstitutionsbeyondtheNWpeers.WarningnotedthatPugetSoundhasa
largerdisparitybetweenfacultyandadministrationthanotherNWpeersbut
doesn’thavethedatabeyondthisgroup.
SampennotedthatintheSenate’spreviousmeetingwiththeBudgetTaskForce,the
BTFstatedthatmost,ifnotallfundsweregoingtofacultysalaryincreasesthisyear.
Shesuggestedthatthisimpliesthatfacultyisputinapositiontochoosebetween
thefundingofraisesinsalaryorthefundingofotherprojectsthatareimportantto
thehealthandmissionoftheuniversity.Shestatedthatthisputsfacultyina
difficultposition.Warningnotedhetakesaskepticallookatthestatedrelation
betweentuitionandtheseotherprojects.
Cannonnotedthathewishestoemphasizeinstitutionalpriorities.Thecurrent
campaigndidnotincludefacultycompensation.The“EnrollmentWorkGroup”was
chargedwithconsideringpricing,discountrate,tuition,butnotwithconsidering
facultycompensation.Anydecisionsmadeaboutpricingandenrollmentstrategies
intertwinewithresourcesavailableforfacultycompensation.Theabsenceoffaculty
compensationinthosemeetingsisstrikingespeciallywhentheywerepartofthe
conversationandprioritytwentyyearsago.Cannonnotedthathewantedtogive
DeanBartanencreditbecauseshehasbeenveryforthcomingwithinformation.
Sousanotedthatquestionsofthesustainabilityofthesalarylevelsandscaleare
priorities.TheUniversityneedstoconsiderthelongtermimplicationsoffaculty
salariesbothintermsofrecruitmentofstrongfacultyandofeconomiccosts.
TubertaskedtowhatextenttheFSClooksatcompensationoutsideofsalary.She
suspectsourtotalcompensationpackageisgoingdown.Warningnotedthatthisisa
problemeverywhereandthatfacultytendtoviewwellbeingthroughcompensation
notjustsalary.Hespeculatedthatourcompensationpackagemightbefallingfaster
thanoursalariesdependingonhowitisvalued.
WieseaskedwhetherinordertomovetheconversationforwardtheFSCfeltthat
thatitsmissionneededtobeexpanded?OritsstructurewithinUniversity
governancechanged?SousarespondedthathethinkstheideaofbringingtheFSC
undertheFacultySenateasapermanentstandingcommitteewoulderodethe
committee’sautonomywiththeadditionofadeanandastudent,andthatbringing
thecommitteeunderthecontrolofthesenatewon’tnecessarysolveanyexisting
problems.Sousacontinuedtoexplainthatfacultyinvolvementintheseissuesisof
value—iftherehadbeenfacultyparticipationindiscussionsofthestateofthe
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educationbenefitoverthelongterm,thatmighthavecomeoutdifferently.
Generallythefacultylacksthelegalandsubjectareaexpertisetodealdirectlywith
mostbenefitsissues.Cannonnotedthatallbenefitsareincommontothestaffand
faculty.Anyalterationstobenefitswouldneedtoinvolvethestaff.Facultysalaries
are,ontheotherhand,independentfromstaffsalaries.Aquestioniswhetherthe
facultyandstaffshouldworktogethermoreconcertedlytoaddressjointconcerns.
BuescheraskedwhethercompensationfiguredintothesalarynumberswhenPuget
Soundwascomparedtopeerinstitutions.MembersoftheFSCindicatedthattotal
compensationdataisnotnecessarilyavailablefromtheAAUP.TheFSCcollected
AAUPdataforsalaryfiguresatPugetSoundandpeerinstitutions.
BuescherinquirediftheUniversity’sdecisiontochangeitspeergroupdecisionhas
animpactontheoverallsalarycomparisons.Sincethischangeisrelativelynew,
membersoftheFSCwerenotcertainoftheimpactbutnotedthatNWpeer
institutionsarestillpartofthenewgrouping.
Kotsisaskedifthefacultywantedtochangethefacultysalaryscaletofrontloadthe
salaryscalehowwouldwegoaboutmakingthatchange.Sousanotedthatthe
processwasdone,inmodest,severalyearsago,andwestartedwithAssistant1and
thenusedamultiplierfromthereinconcertwiththeDean.Headdeditisamatter
ofarguingthecase.
Kotsisaskedaboutrecommendation#2(wewouldlikeourleadershiptoadhereto
anormofsharedsacrificeandsharedgains)wonderinghowtogoabout
implementingthissharedsacrifice.Cannonnotedthatbyhavingconversationsand
bymakinginformationpartofthepublicdiscussionwecaneffectchange.Hefurther
notedthatthebylawsdonotauthorizefacultyinvolvementindeterminingfaculty
salariesbutthatthedeanshaveahistoryoflisteningtothefacultyonmatterssuch
assalaries.
Sampenaskedifcostoflivingwastakenintoconsiderationwhenprojectingsalaries,
e.g.itismoreaffordabletoliveinWallaWallathanTacoma.Sousanotedthatitis
notgenerallyconsidered.
SaucedoaddedthatPugetSoundwasrecentlyrecognizedasbeinginthetopten
mostaccessiblefacultyinthenation,butthatthatnewswasnotplacedonthe
websitewhichwasoddconsideringtherapiditybywhichnewsofthatnatureis
posted.Shewonderedifthisomissionwasbecauseofthecurrentconversation
aboutfacultysalarythatwouldgiveevidenceforraisingcompensationduetothe
clearoutcomesoffacultywork.
StockdalestatedthathewouldliketohearajustificationbytheBoardofthe
executivecompensationphilosophy.Warningnotedthatpeerinstitutionsareseeing
strongcapitalcampaignsbutnotlevelsofcompensationtotheiradministration
suchasPugetSoundiswitnessing.Warningalsonotedthatfacultyhavebeenvery
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involvedinfundraisingandmeetingswithdonorsbuthavenotreceivedany
increasecompensationasaresultofthislabor.
StockdaleaskedwheretheBoardhaspulledmoneyfromtomakethecompensation
ofadministrationpossible.Cannonnotedthatthereisapoolofstaffsalariesandhis
beliefisthatmanyoftheadministratorsareinthatpoolanditisprobablyVP
Mondou’sdecisionasCFOtoallocatethestaffsalaries.Cannonfurthernotedthat
theboardhasoversightoverthePresident’ssalary.
WarningnotedthatheisveryhappywiththejobRonandKrisaredoingdespitethis
oneissue.Hethinkstheappreciationofadministration’sworkisasharedfeelingof
thefaculty.Thisiswhythenumbersofadministrationcompensationpackages
weremostsurprising,especiallybecauseofthefeltsenseofsharedpurposewith
thisadministration.
CannonnotedwehavealistofthingsKrishassuggestedwediscusswithher,things
likethescale,competitivecompensationwithhiringnewfaculty,etc.Thereare
someissuesCannondoesnotfeelcomfortablehavingtheFSCassuchdiscusswith
theDean,issuessuchasthestaffingofleavereplacement.Cannonnotedtheseissues
wouldfallunderconversationsregardingcurriculumandclasssize.Thoseare
mattersthatclearlyfallunderthebylawsofthesenateandthefacultyasawhole
andarebetterdiscussedinthoseforums.
Sousanotedthatpartofthefocusoftherecentconversationiswhetherthe
universityshouldhireaconsultantonsalaryandcompensation.
WarningsaidtheFSCwouldreallyliketohearfromfacultytheiropinionsaboutthe
facultyscaleandwhetherthescaleshouldbemaintained.TheFSCwantstohavea
feelforhowthefacultythinksaboutthescale.
DraftFacultySurveyonFacultyGovernance
Tubertopenedthefloortoquestionsandcommentsaboutthedraftsurvey.The
senatediscussedthesurveywithminormodifications.MSP:sendthesurveyto
facultywithminorrevisions.
Meetingadjournedat5:30
RespectfullysubmittedbyDerekBuescher
Attached:
2013MemorandumfromtheFacultySalaryCommitteetotheBudgetTaskForce.
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