The University of Missouri’s recent accomplishments and future plans, seen through the prism of limited state funding, were discussed at the general faculty meeting Tuesday in Memorial Union’s Jesse Wrench Auditorium.
Foremost on the minds of administrators was the need to hire more faculty and increase faculty pay, even as MU faces a $2.3 million shortfall without raises or benefit increases for fiscal 2014. The spending plan assumes a 0 percent increase in state support, according to Budget Director Rhonda Gibler.
Faculty Council Chair Harry Tyrer began the 90-minute meeting by summarizing the council’s accomplishments over the past year. This included council’s role in re-establishing the University of Missouri Press after its closure last May, and organizing the vote that gave non-tenure-track faculty campus voting privileges, which the Board of Curators is expected to approve Friday.
Citing recent MU accomplishments, Chancellor Brady J. Deaton praised Mizzou Advantage, the recruitment of faculty in strategic areas, aggressive enrollment management, and strengthening data and analysis to enhance student success.
As in his April 4 talk to Faculty Council, Deaton discussed the strategy to hire 200 faculty over the next five years and raise faculty salaries.
He also said he is committed to making faculty pay commensurate with other public institutions in the Association of American Universities.
MU wants to “attract and retain the best,” Deaton said.