David McRaney  |  Journalist

Pay raises tempers

Tempers flared over $160,000 in pay raises to administrators on Oct. 7 when USM President Shelby Thames met with the Faculty Senate to discussplans for the university after Hurricane Katrina.

Since the meeting,questions have been raised among senate members and other faculty over what many consider to be an unwarranted series of salary increasesbased on unclear standards.

Not only did the raises come withoutwarning, but some faculty believe that in light of understaffing andrebuilding, the increases are coming at an inappropriate time.

Accordingto William Scarborough, professor of history at USM, many faculty members are upset over the surreptitious nature of the increases, and the criteria by which the 16 administrators who received them is still unknown. Scarborough said  news of the increases first came at the senate retreat earlier in the year when USM Interim Provost Jay Grimes announced  he had received a pay increase but did not ask forit.

"Thames has the authority to do this, I have no argument there," said Scarborough. "We just think it was inappropriate when everyone is biting the bullet. Medical co-payments are going up, the average faculty member is losing money, and the cost of drugs isoutrageous."

Scarborough added  he couldn't understand why top administrators were receiving raises at a time when no one else was. The USM English and history departments are each in need of new faculty members because of a rash of resignations and retirements over the last two years said Scarborough, but they cannot hire new professors due tobudget constraints.

"Hurricane Katrina affected us severely, and Idon't blame Thames for that," said Scarborough. "But, the plain fact isthat we can only hire one person permanently if we are fortunate."

Bill Powell, who is associate professor of foreign languages and literature at USM as well as faculty senate president, said  the raises seemed to exhibit favoritism. According to Powell, the 13 faculty members who received pay increases were spread across several colleges on campus. All the raises were based on attempts at equity, either with the same position at another university, or positions in which women weren't receiving comparable salaries to men. Such increases are not unusual and fall within the budgets of those departments. But, Powell went on to say  the pay increases within the College of Science and Technology were considered merit raises, and the monies involved camefrom outside the budget.

"How come only one college received them?" asked Powell. "If the administration is calling for equity, then why weren't the colleges given equity?" Powell said  even if all the colleges had been given equal pay increases, the faculty senate wouldhave still had questions for the administration.

"There is such a thingas shared governance at a university," he said.

Powell explained the increases were implemented before Hurricane Katrina at a time when faculty members were being told by the administration to tighten theirbelts.

"They looked bad then, but look worse now," he added. Powell suggested in light of rising tuition and parking fees students should be asking where their money is going. His answer was  it is going to upper level administrators. Powell also said  it seemed asif the administration was rewarding itself unduly.

"When you realize that this was a year that we were put on probation and remained a fourth-tier university according to U.S. News and World Report, it isdisconcerting and perplexing."

Lawrence Mead, a professor of physics and astronomy spoke out at the meeting questioning Thames decision to increase the pay of athletic director Richard Giannini by approximately$40,000. "There were no merit raises given, and they were not based onthe procedures in the handbook," said Mead. Mead said not much could be done financially at USM because of the recent hurricane, and raises shouldn't be given to a select group when everyone on campus issuffering.

Normally pay raises originate at the department level, proceed to the college and then get approved by the administration. According to both Mead and Scarborough, the recent raises were based solely on the decision of Thames. Scarborough said Thames is doing what he thinks is best, and  the president loves USM, but hisautocratic management style routinely causes friction with faculty.

The response from the administration of USM has been meager. After repeated attempts to reach Interim Provost Jay Grimes, administrative assistant Betty Boney suggested Grimes would be unwilling to comment on the matter.

Originally published in The Student Printz on November 3, 2005