UNC-G Faculty Pool Donations To Assist University Employees

Faculty members have put together a plan for raising $250,000 to assist staff members in a time of economic stress.

"(Staff members) were totally speechless but overwhelmingly happy," said Karen Patrick, administrative officer for the UNC-G College of Arts and Science.

Faculty members include professors and teaching assistants, while staff members include maintenance workers and food service personnel. The state budget approved by the legislature last week allows for no pay raises for either group.

Campus-initiated tuition increases this year are being used to fund raises for faculty, but university staff are not eligible for such measures.

To compensate for this, faculty members at UNC-G are turning to their co-workers for one-time gifts to make the burden of budget cuts easier for staff members to bear.

The program was announced in August at Convocation, but plans were not confirmed until after the state budget was set.

"The primary reason (for the program) ... is to give relief and show solidarity," said Ben Ramsey, president of the UNC-G Faculty Senate.

About 100 faculty members have committed to the program so far. Those involved hope to have the money for staff by December, Ramsey said.

The UNC-G Faculty Senate plans to allocate the money from a central gift trust fund that is separate from the university's budget.

A move like this is unprecedented at UNC-G and ideally will bring the campus together, Ramsey said.

He said he thinks some individuals see a line drawn between faculty and staff.

"I think that there is that perception," Ramsey said. "We'll get people to realize that the division is not as strong as they think."

The program has drawn praise from faculty leaders outside of UNC-G as well. "It's a wonderful move, and it's hard to argue with the desire to give raises to the staff," said Dan Noland, a UNC-Wilmington English professor and president of the UNC-system Faculty Senate.

Ramsey said that although the move was altruistic, he does not want employees at other schools to feel obligated to do the same thing.

Faculty leaders at other UNC-system universities are trying to create alternatives for their employees, but most schools do not have definite plans because budget cuts were not finalized Sept. 20.

Budget cuts, combined with rising medical insurance costs and parking permit fees, have resulted in less disposable income for staff and faculty, said Sue Estroff, chairwoman of the UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty Council.

Rick Niswander, vice chairman of faculty at East Carolina University, said the university has had to implement certain measures -- such as restricting hiring -- to absorb budget cuts.

But faculty jobs have generally been kept intact, despite hiring freezes.

Noland also said public schools do not have the money to bring in new professors, which makes it harder to maintain a superior staff. He said some staff and part-time faculty at UNC-W had to be laid off because of cuts.

But Gates said most faculty and staff members are maintaining a positive attitude, despite financial hardships.

"We're certainly concerned and sensitive to the problem," Gates said.

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.