Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series looking at the University’s recent faculty salary raises. Visit lsureveille.com/salary for past stories.
While some faculty incomes changed with funding other than the Board of Supervisors-approved merit increases, other faculty did not receive raises at all because of the approved policy.
The money came from sources such as promotions, an increase in workloads and object code 1090 — money from an outside source that complements a professor’s salary.
Tommy Smith, acting executive director of the Office of Budget and Planning, said some professors receive object code 1090 money, or funding for professors with endowments, that comes from the LSU Foundation and works similarly to scholarships for students.
Because the LSU Foundation is a private organization, Smith said this 1090 money does not appear in the Board of Supervisors’ operating budget detailing the pay raises.
Additionally, if a professor receives money from the 1090 object code, the recent merit increases are only based on money the employee receives from the University and not outside sources.
Vice Provost for Fiscal Management Robert Kuhn said hundreds of professors on campus receive this type of funding.
Even though the numbers do not appear in the operating budget, professors did not receive a raise in their 1090 funds, Smith said.
This is not the case for all outside sources of money. In the College of Agriculture, employees received raises on their supplementary income.
Additionally, The Daily Reveille’s data shows the College of Agriculture department experienced an average merit increase of 3.59 percent, in the mid-range of the departments.
Dean of the College of Agriculture and University Vice President for Agriculture Bill Richardson said faculty in the College of Agriculture have salaries supplemented by the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service — part of the AgCenter — so the numbers in the database are only part of employees’ salaries and don’t include these figures.
Richardson said the salaries are generally divided in ratios between the University and Extension Service.
Faculty with extension appointments conduct research and work in a broad range of fields throughout the state from the Audubon Sugar Institute to renewable natural resources.
The recent increases were a definite help, but Richardson said they did not do enough at this point, and he hopes to identify areas to advance to begin growing the recently-merged program.
The Daily Reveille’s data also shows not every member of all departments received a raise.
In the Athletic Department, only about 51 percent of employees, on average, saw merit increases.
Smith said in an email that a lack of raises in the Athletic Department is not because of “performance issues.”
The salary raises excluded employees with contracts and given that coaches are mostly supported with contracts, therefore they did not receive the general University standard of 4 percent.
Also, some names on the list of employees not receiving increases had already experienced a change in their salaries due to promotions or additional responsibilities, Smith said in an email.
Smith said additional responsibilities depend on a professor’s teaching load and could include things such as picking up extra courses.
To be eligible for the recent raises, employees needed to be full-time and employed with the University by Jan. 1. Smith said new hires contribute to the lack of raises within some departments.
New hires are also hired at market value, so when these employees start their term with the University, they sometimes have greater salaries than professors established at the University.