President Bruce Murphy praised the faculty for a job well done last year and outlined the challenges facing the university in the upcoming year in his State of the University Address at Faculty Institute last week.

One of the announcements that received the most attention was concerning a salary supplement for faculty. $295,582 has been set aside for a one-time $500 supplement for faculty, many of whom have not seen a salary increase in the last six years.

Michael Jeffress, a Mass Communication instructor, conducted a survey of 192 faculty members and the majority of participants were not satisfied with their current salaries.
Jeffress was the first to applaud the announcement. He said the salary supplement “is certainly a welcome change from the empty rhetoric and passing on of the blame to Baton Rouge of previous years.”

“I gratefully receive this announcement as a concrete demonstration to the faculty that he [Murphy] realizes the need to tackle the problem of low faculty morale related to pay issues,” Jeffress said.

“Although appreciated, uniform, across-the-board, one-time pay supplements cannot rectify the major problems of salary inversion and compression that has been created from years of simultaneously freezing the salaries of existing faculty and paying new faculty recruits significantly higher salaries than their tenured peers,” Jeffress said.

Bridgett Scott, president of the faculty senate, is also appreciative of Murphy’s effort to show he understands the faculty’s situation and the lack of pay raises over the last six years.
“I feel that the salary supplement is a move in the right direction, and as faculty senate president I look forward to working with Dr. Murphy in regard to the pay issues facing faculty,” Scott said.

In addition to the strategic budget planning, Murphy also announced how the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy initiative will affect Nicholls. This bill, recently passed by Louisiana lawmakers, would create the WISE, which would allow colleges in the state to compete for a share of $40 million, based on how many graduates are produced in high-demand fields like technology, engineering and science.

He explained the budget in greater detail.

With almost 75 percent of the $53 million budget set aside for salaries, benefits and retirement, there is not much room for flexibility. However, Murphy is confident that the strategic planning and budgeting process he has in mind, including a committee made up of faculty members, will have the university well on the way by October.

Some additions to this year’s budget include a new administrative position of “Vice President of University Advancement,” an online sexual assault training for faculty and staff, promotions, accreditation visits, returning a loan from Admissions department and additional scholarships for students.

Murphy opened his speech by readdressing the four imperatives outlined in his inaugural address: student opportunity and success, the spirit of innovation, internationalization and serving the needs of the region.

He complimented the faculty on their commitment to progress. So far this year, Nicholls awarded 1,365 degrees, the most in its history, as well as received $1 million in research grants.