This has been a rather disheartening year for most folks who work at KU. Indeed, it has not been a particularly good year for most state employees and for many who work in the private sector. The fact of the matter is that the national and state economies are in bad shape and there seems to be little hope that things are going to get much better in the near future. But, after speaking to number of faculty and staff at the university, I have also come to believe that some of the unhappiness now felt on the Hill might have been avoided.

The fact of the matter is that few of us who work at state universities do so in the hope that we’re going to get rich. On the other hand most of us do want to feel appreciated and when we suffer financially, it helps if we are made to feel appreciated in other ways. I believe that part of the current morale problem at KU can be solved without additional funding.

First, let’s begin with some facts. Very few faculty or staff at the university are well-paid. Some are quite poorly paid. I know of one staff member who, in order to make ends meet and send her child to KU, works at KU during the days and at a local store on nights and weekends. I am sure that hers is not an isolated case. Neither faculty nor staff received any raises last year. This year, the raise pool for the majority of faculty and staff was 1.5 percent, hardly a generous amount, but better than nothing. Unfortunately, whatever comfort folks might have taken in this raise was damaged by a number of factors.

First, of course, was the announcement of the appointment of a new athletic director at a reported salary of $400,000 per year. In defense of the salary, there seems little question that the “going rate” for top-flight, Division I AD’s is at this level. The question of course, is whether, at a time of economic hardship for faculty and staff, we needed to make such an appointment and, if it was necessary, was there a way to announce this salary in a somewhat less problematic way? Perhaps not. Happily, this was not a problem I had to deal with.

Far more damaging to morale, however, in my opinion, was how KU implemented its decision this year to use a portion of the tuition increase to fund an additional 1.5 percent salary increase. When this additional raise was first announced, many on the faculty were elated. Although a 3 percent salary increase pool is also not huge, it’s certainly better than 1.5 percent.

But elation turned to anger and disappointment for many of the faculty during the past several weeks as they received their salary letters. In these it was explained that the additional 1.5 percent would be restricted to a small pool (reportedly 25 percent) of the faculty who had shown “exceptional merit.”

Of course, what this means is that the vast majority of faculty and staff were excluded from receiving these additional salary funds. The comment I heard from one colleague who had not received any of these funds was that this salary decision had simply “added insult to injury.” Another colleague, who was in the “exceptional merit” pool said that he wished that he had not been, for the small additional increase wasn’t worth having his less fortunate colleagues unhappy.

One must ask why, after a year in which all faculty received no raise at all, it was necessary to limit this small additional increase to so small a pool. Was it wise to decide to reward only those who showed “exceptional merit” with this money? And, of course, in many faculty minds there lingers the question of what constitutes “exceptional merit.” Was this truly in keeping with the promises made to students when the tuition increases were put into effect?

I think that this salary decision was an unfortunate error and one which has further exacerbated the morale problem on campus. If the purpose of identifying a small number of faculty for exceptional raises was to convince these faculty not to leave the university it was, in my own judgment (for it’s worth), mistaken. An extra percent or two is unlikely to have much effect on an individual’s decision to stay or move. If faculty simply are looking for the best pay, they won’t stay at KU anyway, for even a fairly large salary increase won’t match what they could receive elsewhere.

Further, perhaps it is time for the university to stop worrying so much about faculty with “itchy feet” and try to reward faculty and staff who are loyal to this university and have stayed through the hard times without extra rewards and without seeking to better their situation here by seeking offers elsewhere. There are many faculty here who do excellent jobs who might well be left out of an “exceptional merit” pool.

As every administrator knows, it is exceptionally difficult to make fine distinctions among many faculty and staff. I believe personally that most faculty and staff have done exceptional jobs these last few years, working with reduced resources and fewer staff.

Whatever the purpose of the differential salary allocation, however, the result has been sad. Many of the faculty and staff members who did not receive the additional increase feel injured, and this was neither necessary nor wise. Of course, it is too late now to change what has already been done for the coming year. It is not too late, however, to begin rethinking how salary will be allocated in future years, particularly in years in which increases must be small.

Further, it would be useful for the university and the Kansas Board of Regents to begin to think of other ways, both financial and otherwise, to make faculty and staff feel more appreciated. Most faculty and staff, not just 25 percent, contribute greatly to making KU a great university. I believe that our administrators can find ways to make the university community feel better and more appreciated if they put their minds to it.

The chancellor’s initiative that led to the establishment of the Kemper Awards is a perfect example of how a small amount of money can go a long way. I was also quite impressed earlier this year when the chancellor contributed his $10,000 honorarium from the NCAA to the KU Endowment Association rather than keeping it for himself. We need more of this sort of action. Sometimes, just an appreciative letter or a personalized card can make all the difference.

A friend of mine, now retired, who was a college president for two decades, once told me that the key to a contented faculty and staff was to be sure always to show them small kindnesses especially when large rewards were impossible. This way they would at least know that they were noticed and appreciated. Let us hope that more such small kindnesses, as well as financial rewards, can become the norm here.