Faculty Council discussed July 24 the method behind faculty raises, the provost search and the formation of a fact-finding committee regarding the School of Medicine.
Dennis Miller, an associate professor of psychological sciences, said that several School of Medicine faculty have requested an examination of the relationship between the school’s faculty and administrators. Miller emphasized that the task force would be involved only in fact-finding. “This is not an investigation,” Miller said.
The task force would begin meeting during fall semester.
Council members continue to ask administrators about the method behind annual merit raises and midyear faculty raises, the latter given this year to high-performing faculty.
Midyear raises were meted out to faculty who administrators say are doing exemplar work that might help MU better its standing in the Association of American Universities. Galen Suppes, a professor in the chemical engineering department, said there needed to be more transparency and faculty input about the process of choosing who received midterm raises.
As for merit raises given out last September, some council members contend that only a small number of faculty received one. But according to a July 14 letter to council members obtained by Mizzou Weekly from Faculty Council that was written by Interim Provost Ken Dean, 59 percent of faculty and staff received merit raises. This breaks down to 1,626 faculty and 3,531 staff receiving a pay increase.
“This occurred without any mandate from the campus as to an average percentage goal to be achieved, allowing each unit to decide how much it could afford to allocate,” Dean wrote.
Meanwhile, the process of finding the next provost continues. Harry Tyrer, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and member of the provost search committee, said it is unlikely the new provost will be announced by end of September, the original goal.
The next Faculty Council meeting is Sept. 4.