UF President Bernie Machen announced a plan Friday to give faculty and staff small pay raises for the first time in two years.
Faculty will receive 3 percent merit-based raises based on criteria set by each college's dean. All staff will receive an across-the-board 2 percent raise.
Raises for faculty represented by the United Faculty of Florida, UF's faculty union, are still being negotiated, Machen said. The raises take effect Sept. 19.
While Machen admitted that the raise is not a significant increase, he said the intention is to send a message to employees during a tough budget year that UF will try to help them with rising gas and food prices even in the "worst of times."
UF cut $47 million from its 2008-2009 budget to cope with state revenue shortfalls earlier this summer. Although the number of layoffs has decreased from the original plan, several faculty and staff have left UF for out-of-state universities in what's been dubbed a "brain drain."
Machen said the funding for raises stems from revenue generated by state-approved tuition hikes in January and July, both of which were 6 percent increases, as well as from new fees, such as the university's new transcript charge.
He said the money did not go toward saving current jobs because the heads of each administrative unit had determined they provided services the university "could do without," he said.
Machen said spending the money for raises is a potentially risky move because there are talks of additional budget cuts coming later this year.
However, he said he's been told by administration and UF's Board of Trustees, UF's highest governing body, that giving raises is critical to change the negative atmosphere on campus.
At least one person has elected not to take the raise â€" Bernie himself.
He received a controversial performance bonus last year of almost $300,000, but Machen said he has not taken a salary raise since he became president and will elect to keep his money in the merit pool.
UF faculty and staff last received raises in 2006, when those eligible received a 3 percent across-the-board raise. In December 2007, all eligible faculty and staff received a one-time $1,000 payment, according to UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes.
Machen said he has been told by deans that faculty members "overwhelmingly prefer" merit-based raises to across-the-board increases.
"The beauty of salary increases is they stay in your pocket year after year," Machen said.
