June 2008
Statement from PROFS, Inc. on recent decision by state officials to delay faculty pay plan
As the State of Wisconsin deals with the current economic downturn, we should be looking for ways to bolster our economy and invest in our future. Unfortunately, the recent decision by state officials to further limit faculty salaries will have the opposite effect.
In recent months, Governor Doyle and other state officials have correctly pointed to the brain power that exists on the Madison campus as one of the keys to our state’s future economic growth. Among the recent developments that highlight the importance of UW-Madison to our state’s economy was the decision by Microsoft to open a lab in Madison.
In an editorial at the time, the Wisconsin State Journal said, “The Microsoft ties to Madison underscore the importance of research universities in the modern, global knowledge-based economy.
“UW-Madison and Wisconsin’s other colleges are assets the state should continue to invest in and promote. Lawmakers should keep that in mind as they consider how to fix a $527 million hole in the state budget. While belt-tightening is called for, significant cuts to university programs are bound to backfire on the state’s economy.”
It would be one thing if state officials had taken care of UW-Madison faculty salaries in good times. But we entered this biennium more than 10 percentage points behind the median of our peers (other major public research universities), as determined by two separate gubernatorial commissions, one appointed by a Democrat and one by a Republican. And we remain in essentially the same position after the first year of the biennium.
Other public research universities and private universities with very deep pockets are paying close attention to UW-Madison’s low faculty pay. They will certainly take note of a decision by state policymakers to further limit our salaries. |
