Compensation package will offset fee increases

By Susan Wittstock

In an effort to cushion the impact of a tight budget year on faculty and staff, Ohio State administrators are providing a uniform flat dollar increase of approximately $395 to base salaries. The funding is intended to help offset increases in medical insurance premiums and parking fees.

"We are working with a very limited budget this year," said Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray. "While it is our desire to give faculty and staff raises on a par with our benchmark institutions, the state budget allocation for higher education for the 2002-03 biennium will not allow us to do more than a minimal increase."

At the June 1 Board of Trustees meeting, Ray and William J. Shkurti, senior vice president for business and finance, provided Ohio State trustees with an overview of compensation issues for faculty, staff and graduate associates.

The $395 increase will be an adjustment in annual salary for all regular faculty and staff with a 75 percent to 100 percent appointment whose performance is satisfactory or better. Faculty and staff employed at 50 percent to 74 percent time will receive an annual increase of approximately $270.

The $395 figure was derived by determining the typical cost of annual increases this year in health care and parking fees for faculty and staff enrolled in the PrimeCare health plan with family coverage.

As previously announced, the University will still provide a one-time cash credit this year for half of the PrimeCare plan premium increase to faculty and staff who earn $30,000 or less as of July 1, 2001. The premium credit will be $50 for single coverage and $156 for family coverage.

The guidelines presented to the trustees also allow the University Medical Center flexibility to meet market demands unique to its market with self-generated funds. The guidelines exclude 3,300 Medical Center employees and another 1,800 employees covered separately under collective bargaining contracts.

Several of the guidelines presented concern graduate associates. The University will begin providing $15 per month toward student health insurance for graduate associates in autumn quarter. The increase is the first in a three-year plan that will reach a total benefit subsidy of $50 per month.

"We were among only three of 14 comparison institutions that did not provide any medical benefit subsidy to graduate associates," Ray said.

Graduate associate stipends also will increase, by $10 per month, and the minimum stipend will be raised to $900 per month, also effective in autumn quarter.

In addition to a 30 percent increase in the University's share of faculty and staff health insurance, the University's general funds budget for fiscal year 2002 is supporting cost increases for student financial aid and improving the undergraduate student experience, and for soaring natural gas and oil fuel costs. Combined, these costs are the equivalent to the expense of a 4.8 percent compensation increase, Ray said.

The market for fiscal year 2001-02 is expected to increase by approximately 4 percent. On average, Ohio State faculty and staff salary increases over the last three years have been trailing the market, Ray said. Faculty salaries are ranked eighth out of 10 benchmark institutions, and 13 of the University's 17 colleges are below the market for faculty salaries. The College of Medicine and Public Health is not included in this comparison due to differing compensation practices among institutions.

Kirwan: Academic Plan initiatives, especially compensation, will remain a priority despite tight budget

In a special message to faculty and staff distributed via OSU Today on June 1, President Brit Kirwan informed employees about his plan to discuss with the Board of Trustees the deeply troubling impact of the General Assembly's recent budget decisions on the University. His message follows:

"The dismal budget the Legislature has now passed includes essentially no increase in state funding, even though we face sharp increases in health care, utilities and other mandatory costs. This poses a number of challenges for us, most especially our ability to make meaningful adjustments in faculty and staff compensation.

"In the short run, there is little we can do about this situation. We will insure that every employee meeting his or her job responsibilities receives at least $395 for next year. This will offset increases in health insurance premiums and parking. We will also take several steps on behalf of graduate associates, increasing stipends by $10 per month and the minimum stipend to $900 monthly, and implementing support for graduate associate health benefits -- providing initially $15 per month in health benefit cost support, rising to $50 per month within three years.

"This is not a situation we can accept for the longer term. Our Academic Plan makes clear that competitive faculty and staff compensation is our highest priority. Accordingly, I have asked Provost Ray and Senior Vice President Shkurti, with support from the Office of Human Resources and through consultation with the University Senate, the University Staff Advisory Committee, deans, vice presidents and others, to prepare a faculty and staff compensation strategy that will bring compensation at Ohio State to the mean of our benchmark peers within three or four years. An advisory group, comprised of faculty, staff and students, will assist them in their work, and their findings and preliminary recommendations will be presented at the Board of Trustees meeting in October. Our goal is to finalize the plan before the end of winter quarter and implement it no later than July 1, 2002.

"This plan will require us to take actions to create a substantial compensation pool from within our existing resources. I do not underestimate the difficulty of this task, but I am determined that it be achieved. The goals of our Academic Plan simply cannot be met unless we have compensation levels for faculty and staff commensurate with the nation's leading universities.

"Faculty and staff compensation will remain the top priority of the Academic Plan. There are three other areas in the plan, however, where we can move forward because of dedicated sources of revenue.

• "The lifting of the state tuition cap will allow us to accelerate our efforts to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning environment and better serve the student body.

• "Plans originated in the colleges of Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Law to create an Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas have been in the works for some time, and resources have been set aside to support this initiative.

• "The state has earmarked funds from the tobacco settlement for biomedical research. We will use funds from this source to launch a biomedical research initiative.

"I know you are as disappointed as I am about the outcome of the budget process. Just seven months ago, the Board of Regents recommended a 16 percent increase for higher education in next year's budget. The DeRolph mandate, Medicaid shortfalls and a declining economy have decimated the Regents' budget proposal. This is terribly discouraging, but we must not let this setback defeat us. By holding firm to our aspirations and by being willing to make difficult choices in support of our highest priorities, we can make progress toward the goals of the Academic Plan. "Moreover, one way or another, the DeRolph matter will be resolved, and I believe we have support in the Legislature to make higher education a priority for significant enhancement in future years."

Jo Ann Davidson named Ohio State trustee

Ohio State's newest trustee is no stranger to public service. Jo Ann Davidson, former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, was appointed by Gov. Bob Taft May 24 to a nine-year term as a University trustee.

Davidson said she is looking forward to working with President Brit Kirwan and the other trustees on behalf of Ohio State.

"I am honored to have been chosen by Gov. Taft for this prestigious position and am extremely pleased to have this opportunity to serve as a trustee of The Ohio State University," she said.

Davidson replaces George Skestos, whose term expired on May 13.

"With a public service career as diverse and extensive as Jo Ann's, I have no doubt that the OSU Board of Trustees will benefit greatly from her participation," Taft said. "Ohio State's reputation is built upon and depends on the continued recruitment of highly qualified and respected individuals like Jo Ann to work on behalf of the institution."

Davidson served in the Ohio House of Representatives for 10 terms representing the 24th House District, and in 1995 was elected the first female speaker of the House. She served as speaker until term limits forced her departure last year. Davidson subsequently served as interim director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and has launched her own consulting firm.

She began her public service career in 1968 as a member of the Reynoldsburg City Council, where she served for 10 years. Before 1994, Davidson worked for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce as vice president for special programs.

She was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1991 and holds honorary degrees from Ohio State, Ohio University, Capital University and the University of Findlay. She was voted Governing magazine's Public Official of the Year in 1999. Davidson also was awarded the Good Housekeeping Award for Women in Government in 1999.

She is a member of the Reynoldsburg-Pickerington Rotary Club and chair of the Franklin County Republican Central Committee.