LEAD BY EXAMPLE

In a recent document circulated by the U of G Faculty Association, it is mentioned that the proposed salary settlement between the University and the UGFA would see an increase of 1.2 per cent in 1999 and 1.1 per cent in 2000. Wow! I am really delighted with the generosity of this offer. This extraordinary offer comes along with the information that the 1997/98 increase in salaries for the senior administration ranged from two per cent to 7.4 per cent.

I recognize that offering this kind of increase to faculty would require substantial dollars that the University perhaps does not have. But I believe the leadership should lead by example and not try to appear in a class by itself. You cannot preach restraint to others when you don't show any yourself.

Prof. Dilip Banerji
Computing and Information Science

I wish to thank Prof. Dilip Banerji for allowing me the opportunity to comment on his letter to the editor regarding the comparison of base increases for faculty and professional librarians recently negotiated with the U of G Faculty Association and the average salary increases of a selected sample of senior administrators.

In response to his major point, permit me to say that it is inappropriate to make simple comparisons between base increases of faculty/librarians with overall increases in the salaries of senior administrators. The 2.3-per-cent base increase over the two-year settlement is only one component of the total faculty/librarian compensation package. Regular TAPSI and deferred TAPSI must also be considered in the calculation of percentage salary changes for faculty/librarians. The long-term salary and benefits scheme makes it clear that payment for both constitute permanent career salary increases for individuals. Moreover, the recent agreement with the UGFA included an improvement in some benefits and a restoration of others.

Academic administrators - the provost, vice-president (research), associate vice-president (academic) and deans - receive the same base increases on their "academic salaries" and TAPSI values as do all other faculty at comparable grid placements. The academic stipends they receive are not permanent components of their career earnings because they are terminated when academic administrators return to their normal academic duties. There are no automatic escalator clauses for administrative stipends, although they are adjusted occasionally when individuals assume new responsibilities and duties or when it is clear that Guelph salaries are falling behind those at other universities.

There are no explicit or automatic time and performance or cost-of-living adjustments for the salaries of senior non-academic administrators. In their case, salary adjustments are based on assessed performance and are occasionally adjusted to reflect market forces for senior administrators in the university system.

There is a great deal of variation in the percentage salary increases for faculty and librarians. The percentage increase to individual faculty/librarians over the two-year period depends on experience (grid placement), performance and the payment of deferred TAPSI. For the 1998/99 period, which saw base increases, payments for regular TAPSI and the first payment for deferred steps in January 1999, total increases ranged from 1.06 per cent to 14.97 per cent for assistant and associate professors and from 0.6 per cent to 9.75 per cent at the full professor level. The average increase across all ranks for faculty members in 1998/99 was four per cent and 4.3 per cent for professional librarians.

Over the past four or five years, the relative salaries of Guelph faculty have increased. In terms of system-wide comparisons for 1998/99, the average age-weighted faculty salaries at Guelph at the assistant professor level are the highest of any Ontario university. The average for associate professors is the second highest, but full professors' average salaries rank eighth. Overall, age-weighted Guelph faculty salaries are now the third highest in the Ontario university system. The relative low ranking for Guelph full professors is a direct result of the shape of the salary grid, which has not been changed since it was introduced in 1988.

The letter on administration salaries attached to information circulated by the UGFA was based on a very selective grouping of senior administrators. The information does not mention that this University spends among the smallest share of its budget (5.2 per cent) on administration of Ontario universities. U of G took this action in very difficult financial circumstances so that it could increase the proportion of the budget devoted to instruction and research. We now spend the largest share of our operating budget of any university in Ontario on instruction and research (66 per cent).

The salaries of the president and vice-presidents, based on published figures for the 1998 taxation year as required by the Public Sector Salaries Disclosure Act, ranked eighth on average among Ontario universities. The percentage increase to individual salaries of the executive group on this disclosure list ranged from 1.5 per cent to eight per cent. The highest percentage increase reflected a significant change in the responsibilities and duties of a senior academic administrator. The average increase for the six individuals cited in the information circulated by the UGFA was 4.46 per cent. The president's salary increase reflected his performance assessment and reappointment for a second term.

In summary, one-year comparisons of faculty salary increases with a small and a selective group of senior administrators for whom there were some extraordinary circumstances should not be the basis on which to draw strong conclusions. Even on the basis of 1998 data, I see no evidence that supports Prof. Banerji's conclusion that the senior administration "should not try to appear in a class by itself," because the 1998 percentage differential increase between administrators and faculty and librarians was extremely low. Moreover, the ranking of the salaries of the president and vice-presidents at Guelph is lower than the system-wide overall ranking for all faculty and is equal to the ranking for Guelph full professors.

The University continues to recognize the significant contributions that faculty, professional librarians and staff make to U of G's success. Although the University believes that salaries and benefits for faculty and professional librarians are competitive, there are some problems associated with our compensation system, including the shape of the current salary grid and mechanistic formula that trigger base increases. It is time for the administration and the UGFA to re-examine the effectiveness of the LTS&B. In this context, I stress that the University is committed to annual negotiations with the UGFA to determine equitable base increases and does not intend to endanger career earnings of existing faculty/librarians. The retirement bulge that will occur in the next four to five years provides the opportunity to consider the most effective long-term salary scheme for new hires.

Nancy Sullivan
Vice-president (finance and administration)

I am indeed a "member of the OVC dean's office," as the May 19 @Guelph article "Development Team Launched" reports. It is also true that I am involved in the Pet Trust effort - productively, thanks to hundreds of clinics around the province, generous members of the public, and the compassion and professionalism of the clinicians and staff in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and others within and outside OVC and the University.

So as not to mislead or confuse the many OVC associates, friends and donors I interact with, however, I would like to point out that my responsibilities as senior manager, OVC public relations and development, range well beyond Pet Trust. They encompass all of OVC's current ongoing development programs (primarily Pet Trust, Horse Health Trust, awards and scholarships and OVC Alumni Trust).

Máire Pratschke
Ontario Veterinary College