Faculty Salaries at UWM Understanding the Issues and Suggesting Some Questions

Salary Shortfall, , Increases by Percentage and Dollar Amount Required to Reach Median For Full Professors: 16.32% or $14,100. For Associate Professors: 8.61% or $5,700 For Assistant Professors: 6.94% or $3,900

Current UWM Mean Salaries by Rank Full Professors: $91,580 Associate Professors $71,891 Assistant Professors: $63,835 Instructors $55,333

How Much Money Would Fix the Problem? A Back of the Envelope Calculation: 243 Asst Professors need $3,900 each. 554 Tenured Professors need ~ $10,000 each: Bottom Line: $6,487,000 Assistants: $ 947,000 Tenured: $5,540,000

Some Propositions Inadequate salaries threaten UWM's growth agenda. Underpaid faculty are "raidable" - e.g., likely to be recruited elsewhere. A poor salary structure makes targeted recruitment of faculty and staff for growth initiatives problematic. The current situation is particularly worrisome because it appears that the salary setting system has broken down. That system requires: –(1) Regent and System analysis of and advocacy for the salary needs for unclassified staff and –(2) an annual local merit review process which allocates salary increases. Neither process worked last year.

Some Questions What is the salary package for ? In the planning discussions for the biennial budget, what plans have the UWM administration submitted to address the lag in salaries at UWM? What plans are there in the UWM administration to bring to the attention of the university's stakeholders, e.g., our students and their families, our investment partners in the business community, and the local political leadership, that an inadequate salary and merit system threatens the quality and future of the university?