Hogan: UI Budget Will Allow for Average 3% Salary Hikes

Most University of Illinois employees should soon get their first standard raises in three years.

U of I president Michael Hogan emailed faculty and staff Tuesday, saying the current budget allows for a 3% increase in the salary pool. Most employees had gone without raises since 2008 - and many effectively lost pay through furloughs last year.

In March, Hogan told a Senate committee that employee pay was a top concern:

"We have not had a general salary program since August of 2008, and of course we had furlough days last year," Hogan said. "And so addressing this problem and retaining our very best faculty has got to be one of my top priorities in the coming year."

Giving raises could help to alleviate the number of faculty leaving the U of I system for other, better-paying jobs.

University spokesman Jan Dennis said state lawmakers were more sympathetic to higher education this year, approving only a one-percent overall reduction in this year's budget.

"We also have implemented cost containment measures on our own that have saved more than $14 million in the first year," Dennis said. "That combination, along with fundraising and other initiatives on campus, enabled us to come up with the pot of money to provide raises for employees this year."

Dennis said the U of I will also honor union contracts that call for changes in their negotiated pay-raise schedules based on university-wide wage programs.

He said the average hike should be about 3%, but individual units will be able to adjust the raises based on merit.

Read Michael Hogan's E-Mail About the Raises:

Dear Colleagues,

We've faced many challenges in recent years and I deeply appreciate how hard you've all been working throughout these difficult times. I've stated all year that one of my top priorities has been to avoid furlough days and strive to find enough cost savings to restore merit-based compensation programs.

I'm pleased to announce that our cost-savings measures and careful planning on all our campuses has helped us in this regard. We've been able to identify funding to enable the first campus salary program for our faculty and academic professionals in nearly three years. This program authorizes the chancellors on each campus to use 3.0% of the salary pool for merit-based compensation adjustments. The same program will be implemented for the University Administration. This modest allocation is well-deserved for our hardworking employees who have faced salary freezes for consecutive years, as well as effective compensation losses in FY 2010 as a result of furlough days.

Many of our collective bargaining units have contractual language that provides for pay adjustments based on the campus wage program, if the campus wage program is greater than previously negotiated pay adjustments for the same period. I will, of course, honor those agreements. For any negotiated groups that do not have such considerations in their contracts, the University will be willing to explore similar arrangements for this time period.

I couldn't be more proud of our great University, which is made possible by our outstanding faculty and staff, who have worked hard to continue to make this university the best it can be. We still have challenges ahead, but I know that by working together, continuing to streamline our administration and cut costs, we will continue to become stronger than ever.

Once more, I thank you for your commitment to the University and your ongoing support for our efforts to streamline operations and save costs, while also improving our programs.

Sincerely,

Mike

Michael J. Hogan President University of Illinois