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Recession or not, some Wesleyan faculty and employees will receive up to a 3 percent raise this year, according to Bill Bleibdrey, senior vice president of finance.
The salary raise is due to better-than-expected enrollment and an increase in revenue, Bleibdrey said. Pay raises weren’t originally expected for the 2009-2010 school year, he said, because of uncertainty of how the current economy would affect school enrollment.
“We had to be very cautious,” he said, referring to promising raises at the beginning of the fiscal year.
The raise, scheduled to take effect by the end of the month, is retroactive to June, the beginning of the fiscal year.
Wesleyan President Dr. Harold Jeffcoat said faculty is subject to a performance review before a raise is issued. The performance measures in each department depend on the nature of the work, he said. Some may receive more than a 3 percent raise while others won’t receive one at all. “We reward those who are the top performers,” he said. “We don’t want to reward those who are just going through the motions.”
The raises are usually expected. Bleibdrey said salary increases are common every year, with 2002 or 2003 being an exception.
Wesleyan’s pay increase comes at a time when other schools in the country are facing opposite troubles. The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Badger Herald reported that officials there would actually be taking a 3 percent pay cut because of mandatory furloughs for all university employees because of strenuous economic times.
The tough times have spared Wesleyan this fiscal year, at least. Likewise, Jeffcoat said Wesleyan needs to remain respectful to the economics that drive this institution – which is the cost of students to attend. “We haven’t fired a soul for financial reasons,” he said. “But we’re not going to raise tuition and fees just to pay someone more.”
Bleibdrey said he’s happy to be able to grant the raises and said Wesleyan wants its people to have purchasing power as the price of everything goes up. “We’re happy to be able to do it,” he said. “And it’s our intention to continue that practice.”
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