The University of Florida board of trustees on Monday unanimously approved the use of $25 million in overhead cost savings to create a pool of funds for faculty and staff raises.
According to a news release from the university, the funds will go toward a 4% merit raise pool for out-of-unit faculty and a 3.75% merit raise pool for staff.
“I asked the university to find savings of $25 million that we would then invest in our faculty,” board Chairman Mori Hosseini said, according to the release. “As a result of our $25 million in overhead savings, our state’s generous investment in the University of Florida, and our continued focus on making sure our faculty and staff are taken care of, we approved historic merit raise pools for our faculty and staff. This is the largest raise pool in at least the past 20 years.”
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Interim President Kent Fuchs said it’s important that the faculty and staff “know that we care about their hard work and what they do each day for our university.”
“As we look forward to the fall semester, there is a sense of excitement about our work to make sure that we elevate this great university,” Fuchs said in the release.
In addition to the raises, the board approved a one-time $10,000 bonus to faculty who receive an “exceeds expectations” rating in their post-tenure review evaluations.
“We always want to recognize those that go over and above,” Hosseini said. “… We are very proud of our faculty and thrilled to be able to provide these bonuses. We truly prioritize our people.”
The raise pools will become effective Oct. 1; raises for union faculty will need to be bargained. The faculty bonuses also will begin Oct. 1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF board of trustees approves raises for faculty and staff
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