Merit pay voted in

As anticipated, last Thursday the Fairfield University Board of Trustees voted in favor of a new compensation structure for faculty based upon merit, despite strong opposition from the faculty.

According to a memo sent out to all faculty members from the Chair of the Board of Trustees Roger Lynch, “The board believes that the quality of the faculty has reached a level where merit pay will be particularly effective in continued recruitment and retention, as it was in rewarding superior performance.”

Most faculty members are not pleased about the change, including George Lang, professor of mathematics and member of the faculty committee established by the Board to look into governance issues.

“I am very disappointed that the Board ignored overwhelming opposition from the faculty on this issue,” said Lang. “If we had the protection employees in a union enjoy, the Board’s action would probably have been illegal.”

The Board established an outline for implementing the new system. According to the memo, Orin Grossman, academic vice president, will meet with faculty and academic administration to determine a structure for the way faculty will be evaluated and compensated.

The Board has requested an update of the progress made on the new program to be presented before the Board in March. By June, the Board hopes to have the full system developed and ready to be implemented during the 2002-2003 academic year.

Not everyone is looking forward to the new system, as faculty point out issues that they have with it already.

“The proposed changes being made in the compensation structure have not even been negotiated with the salary committee,” said Lang.

In anticipation of unhappy faculty reactions, Lynch emphasized that merit pay would “become one tool in advancing and rewarding excellence,” and that it was not meant to punish unworthy faculty.

Lynch went on to say “It (merit pay) will not replace other effective ways to reward performance. It will join others such as the various faculty awards, the pre-tenure and post-tenure sabbaticals… and of course the rank and tenure structure.”