Dive Brief:
- Inside Higher Ed profiles the faculty retention efforts made by the University of Wisconsin – Madison, which spent more than $23 million on raises, research enhancements and teaching support to retain more than 75% of its faculty.
- University officials called the investments a "strong statement" in the effort to show faculty their value and to minimize the impact of legislative efforts to stem tenure systems at public institutions in the state.
- According to surveys, faculty recruited to other institutions were frequently offered 30% salary increases to switch institutions.
Dive Insight:
Put bluntly, faculty are the university product, even more than students. Students do not secure research funding or write recommendations, or publish on their own, nor do they bring the university enterprise acclaim in federal outreach or media engagement. Faculty should be the top priority for any college president, because they are the producers of the graduates and alumni who go out to make the millions and build the reputation of the university.
For other institutions struggling to retain faculty for reasons beyond geography, budget cuts, or low morale and response to leadership, money may not be an answer, but lower teaching loads and more transparency in tenure and promotion may be an adequate substitution.