A new proposed policy could mean increased wages for professors.
The Merit Professor Policy, proposed to the University Senate, is designed to give full-time professors who have taught at Loyola for at least five years the opportunity to apply for a raise in salary.
Joseph Berendzen, associate philosophy professor and University Senate executive committee member at-large and chairman of the Faculty Handbook Revision Committee, proposed the policy to University Senate at its Feb. 9 meeting. According to the minutes of the Feb. 9 meeting, the policy was presented as a draft for preliminary discussion.
The policy has been proposed as an addition to the Faculty Handbook because newly hired assistant professors are often being paid more than senior professors at Loyola, according to Barbara Ewell, University Senate chairwoman and English professor.
“This phenomenon is common at many universities, and businesses for that matter, when raises do not keep pace with inflation and the increasing ‘market price’ for new hires,” Ewell said.
Professors of five years can apply for “Merit Professor” every five years if they excel in their fields of work, such as publishing books and doing research, Berendzen said at the meeting.
Although Berendzen, who proposed the policy in front of the University Senate, says the policy is not based on rank, he says that the policy would increase the retention of professors at the university
Edward Kvet, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, stands behind it, saying it is a “very positive” policy.
The only issue brought up at the University Senate meeting regarding the policy is the potential burden it could put on the deans of the colleges, according to Berendzen. According to Ewell, the burden mentioned is that it would require greater committee work and an evaluation procedure between the deans and professors.
This policy was just proposed at the last University Senate meeting and has not been voted on.
“A policy needs to be written that would be approved by the University Senate, the Faculty Handbook Revision Committee and ultimately the president and the Board of Trustees,” Ewell said.
Jonathan Cepelak can be reached at [email protected]
