In This issue

Performance Award for President Proenza

Admin asks departments for 10% cuts

Budget Cuts, Faculty Salary and Raises

Negotiating Team in preparations

Akron-AAUP's lawyer is "Super" Lawyer

Minutes of STRS Board Meeting

AAUP Links

Akron-AAUP Monthly Newsletter: March 2009

President Proenza Receives $85,000 “Performance Award” (not “bonus”):

In case you missed the story over Spring Break (Akron Beacon Journal, 3/14/09), University of Akron trustees have rewarded President Proenza with $85,000 in “performance payments” that brought his current compensation to $535,000. Trustee President Philip Kaufmann said he preferred to call the awards ''performance payments'' instead of bonuses, as the latter sounds more ''willy-nilly, while these are part of the contract.'' In January, Proenza received $25,000 for meeting seven one-year goals for 2008 that included increasing enrollment and enhancing fundraising. The goals did not specify the number of students the university had to attract, the amount of money UA had to raise or other benchmarks. He also received $60,000 for meeting longer-term goals for 2006-08. They included positioning UA as a leader in higher education statewide; strengthening UA's relationship to Gov. Ted Strickland, the legislature and other constituencies; and expanding partnerships with non-university entities such as Akron hospitals.

In addition, Proenza receives a retirement package that puts him near the top of university presidents. Last year, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Proenza received $94,405 in retirement pay in 2007-08, the second highest of any public university president nationwide. Proenza's contract requires the board to pay an amount equal to 25 percent of his compensation into a governmental plan and 13.3 percent into a 403(b) plan, subject to IRS compensation caps. In 2007-08, two bonuses totaling $81,700; retirement pay; and salary, including a 5.5 percent raise for merit and to help pay health-care costs, came to $525,850. The president also receives a house provided by the university, a car, 22 days of vacation a year plus an additional month off at his discretion between May and the start of school in the fall. Proenza's contract runs through December 2010 with automatic, one-year extensions through 2013.

Administration asks for 10% Cuts Across-the-Board:

It is interesting that at the same time the Board is giving our President an $85,000 bonus, the administration is asking all departments to plan to cut 10% from their operating budgets. While Akron-AAUP can understand the need for budget cuts if state funding is severely reduced, we would expect such cuts to be shared by the administration. In order to discover exactly where all the money is going, the chapter has asked economist Rudy Fichtenbaum of Wright State to once again go over the university’s audited financial statements with a fine tooth comb. Rudy performed this service for us during negotiations for our last contract, and it was very revealing.

Budget Cuts, Faculty Salary, and Raises:

Some faculty have been asking if it is possible for their salaries to be cut as part of the across-the-board budget cuts. It is not. Compensation, benefits, working conditions, etc. are covered by the contract for all bargaining unit faculty, and cannot be changed without negotiating with Akron-AAUP.

Faculty have also been asking when they can expect to see their next raise. Normally, raises based upon the prior academic year’s performance would appear starting in the September paycheck for 9 month faculty. But the contract specifies that the raise for 2009-2010 (that is the one based upon performance in 2008-2009) will be determined in the next contract. Article 16, Section 7 reads: “2009-2010 Academic Year. Any first-year negotiated increase reached as a result of negotiations for a successor to this Agreement shall be applied retroactive to July 1, 2009.” That means that the next contract must be ratified before we know what the raises will be for this year. As soon as the contract is ratified, those raises will be given retroactive to the September 2009 paycheck.

Negotiating Team in Preparations:

The Akron-AAUP Executive Committee and Negotiating Team spent one Saturday in February going through the current contract article by article to determine which sections need to be addressed in the next round of negotiations. They will meet again this weekend to continue this work. The results of the faculty survey are being used to prioritize faculty concerns. The Executive Committee has also been keeping a list of problems with various articles. The current contract expires at the end of this year. Negotiations on the next contract should begin very soon.

Akron-AAUP’s lawyer is “Ohio Super Lawyer”:

We thought our members might like to know that our own lawyer, Eben “Sandy” McNair, has been on the list of “Ohio Super Lawyers” every year since 2004, one year after the start of this prestigious list. The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and consumers in the search for legal counsel. No other legal publisher goes through the unique multi-step process that Super Lawyers employs to find evidence of peer recognition and professional achievement. We already knew Sandy was the best; it is gratifying to see that he is nationally recognized. For more information on the list: http://www.superlawyers.com/index.html

Minutes of the March 2009 STRS Board Meeting:

Given the financial situation, faculty using STRS as their primary retirement option should be interested in the minutes of the STRS Board meeting for March 2009. Not suprisingly, STRS now expects an investment shortfall that threatens its solvency long term, and are considering a number of options to insure its obligations. See their report at http://www.strsoh.org/boardnews/bn_current.html. UA faculty might also be interested to know that Akron-AAUP, through its affiliation with the Ohio Conference of AAUP chapters, has representatives who have been regularly attending STRS Board proceedings in order to serve the interests of those invested in STRS. In fact, this is one of the many services that is supported by chapter member union dues. See the OCAAUP website at http://www.ocaaup.org .