By The Editors
Their sticks were no match for his law degree, and now the man famous for breaking the resolve of professional hockey players is the University’s main weapon in tense negotiations over faculty contracts.
With the deadline to renew contracts for professors nearing, both sides in the negotiations could not be further from a compromise, and the battle just got uglier with both sides pulling out their arsenals. For the administration, it’s hot-shot lawyer Robert Batterman of Proskauer Rose LLP, who forced NHL players to lace up their skates when he brought about an impromptu settlement with team owners. The faculty, on the other hand, have no fancy tools or surprises to pull out of their hats, but they are calling upon the one thing the University seems to have forgot – its students.
This week, in addition to the expected flood of club flyers and endorsements for student government candidates, students entering and exiting the Unispan were handed buttons and flyers from faculty members asking for support.
The flyers make the bold statement: “Your professors ARE your education?” and ask students to determine what their education is worth. Without the faculty, the University would be nothing more than buildings, flowers and strange-looking statues.
Since President Stuart Rabinowitz assumed office he has made many improvements to make the University more appealing to outsiders. By renovating buildings on campus, raising requirements for accepting students and creating a new presidential studies program, Rabinowitz has given the University a new look, complete with a new logo. The improvements have made the University more marketable to students and outside donors, but there is one vital group who as not bought the sales pitch – professors.
According to faculty members, University has sought out certain highly-qualified teachers, but has failed to seal the deal because other colleges offered more impressive compensation packages. The administration says it offers a benefit package that is “competitive,” and dollar for dollar, its offer may beat out other universities, but when the cost of living on Long Island is factored in, a job at the University loses its appeal.
An article that appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education last month examined the true value of a faculty’s salaries when adjusted according to the cost of living in a particular area. The study learned that professors at some universities receive salaries well over $95,000, the national average salary for a full-time professor, but most teach in affluent areas of the country, such as New York, Boston and Washington D.C., where housing costs are the highest. For example, Illinois State University only offers its professors an average salary of $76,000, which seems like nothing compared to the average salary of a full-time New York University professor who is paid $144,000. However, when these numbers are adjusted for cost of living, the NYU faculty member takes home only $70,000, $6,000 less than if he had taken the job in Illinois, where the cost-of-living is on target with the national average.
On Long Island, where the average house costs approximately $500,000, it has become difficult to attract outsiders to the high-priced area, and even some long-time residents have considered leaving. In interviews with The Chronicle, some University faculty have said they barely get by on their teaching salaries Therefore, included in the demands put forth by the University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors is an 8 percent increase in salaries.
This year, faculty salaries across the country are 2.8 percent higher than in 2005, when they increased by 2.1 percent. However, while they have risen, they have failed to keep up with inflation rates, according to a report by the American Association of University Professors published in the Chronicle of Higher Education last month.
While salaries showed a pitiful increase, premiums for health care plans for colleges rose at an average rate of 11.9 percent from 2003 to 2004, according to a survey conducted last year by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.
In response to rising health care costs that are burdening employers across the nation, employees are not being asked to contribute more to paying for health care expenses.
Oberlin College in Ohio has asked faculty members to pay up to $3,000 out-pocket for health care services. Therefore, if an Oberlin professor who earns $65,000, opts for family coverage, then they will have to pay $2,600 a year in premiums, plus $15 co-payments and 10 percent of charges for hospital procedures up to $3,000. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, in one year this professor could spend $5,600, 8.6 percent of their salary, on health care.
At the University, the administration is asking faculty to pay up to 15 percent of health care costs. During an AAUP meeting last semester, when talks first began about faculty contracts, some members voiced concerns similar to the Oberlin example, saying that with health costs spiraling out of control, if they were required to contribute a significant portion of these costs, then pay a few years they could conceivable be spending more than what he earned on health care.
While it is routine in some businesses to award hard work with increased compensation, professors rarely receive salary raises, but have been willing to work for lower wages with the promise of lucrative health benefits. However, if the professors accept the changes being put forth by the University, they will have to open their wallets and limit their choices in health providers. And any professors hired after contract negotiations can forget about receiving health benefits from the University after retirement.
The University takes pride in the fact that all its classes are taught by qualified professors, not graduate students, a practice common in many schools across the country. However, if they start cutting back on the benefits to faculty, they may motivate some seasoned professors to leave and limit their ability to attract new, qualified ones.
It seems this dispute will only be settled if one side gives in a bit, and in this case, the University should back down. The quality of faculty can make or break the value of college degree, not only turning out highly-educated students but providing gateways in the business world.
Faculty are the direct link to the students, (how many of them have actually spoken to President Rabinowitz?) While faculty members serve an authoritative role in the classroom, deep down, professors and their pupils know they are dependent on each other and the University needs them both. The University can bring in their high-priced analysts and legal counselors, but if the faculty and the student body band together, they will out power any hockey team.