eer into a "negative" climate, UF President Bernie Machen announced Friday an $11 million plan to give some faculty and staff pay raises for the first time in two years.
But some think pay raises come at an odd time considering UF's recent $47 million budget crunch that prompted eight faculty and 68 staff layoffs.
Under the plan, some of UF's 5,400 faculty members could be awarded a merit-based raise if they meet criteria set by each college's dean.
UF's more than 8,300 staff members, including secretaries, janitors and top-ranking administrators, will receive an across-the-board raise of either 2 percent or $600 to cope with rising cost-of-living expenses.
Machen said the intention of the raises, which go into effect Sept. 19, is to send a message to employees during a summer of "gloom and doom" that UF will try to help them even in the "worst of times."
Machen said the funding for raises stems from revenue generated from state-approved tuition hikes in January and July, both 6 percent increases, and from new fees, such as the charge for transcripts.
UF faculty and staff last received raises in 2006, when eligible faculty and staff received a 3 percent across-the-board increase. In December 2007, all eligible faculty and staff received a one-time $1,000 payment, said UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes.
Frank Bova, Faculty Senate chairman, said the raise is a small step toward putting UF at the same level of compensation of its peer institutions.
"The faculty has gone two years without a raise, and that means that essentially our salaries have been decreased each year by the cost of living index," Bova said.
Raises for faculty in UF's chapter of United Faculty of Florida, the union that represents about 35 percent of UF faculty, are under way, said John Biro, president of UF's chapter and philosophy professor.
Biro said raises are welcome, but the move doesn't match what administrators have been saying all summer - that layoffs were unavoidable.
"The conclusion has to be that the administration hasn't been telling us the truth all these months," Biro said. "We will not let that matter drop."
Machen said he expects criticism from faculty who would rather keep those slated for layoffs than receive raises. He said the $11 million did not go toward keeping faculty and staff targeted for layoffs because the heads of each unit determined those employees provided services UF "could do without."
Machen said he has chosen to decline the raise he would have received in the merit pool.
But UF history professor Steven Noll said the real statement of solidarity would have been if Machen declined his performance bonus of almost $300,000 last year.
"I don't think it will improve morale," Noll said of the raises.
John Leavey, UF English professor, said Machen's worries about preventing a "brain drain" of faculty and staff will not be cured through boosting salaries but by working to restore the confidence some faculty lost after their programs and colleagues were cut.
Machen said spending the money for raises could be a risky move because of the potential onslaught of additional budget cuts later this year.
However, he said he has been told since March by the Board of Trustees, UF's highest governing body, that giving raises is a priority.
