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Thursday, February 25, 2016
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NIU to restructure salaries Alexander Chettiath News Editor
DeKalb | NIU is looking to restructure how salaries are contracted for academic administrators to reduce cases of overpaid and underpaid administrators. The restructuring will allow for salaries to adjust and ref lect job responsibilities at the time. This will be done through the use of an administrative adjustment salary added to a base salary rather than an increase in base salary. When an administrator steps down from their contract, their salary can be reduced.
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SA looks to gather letters for governor Madison Kacer Staff writer
If I go back to the faculty, I don’t want my colleagues to resent me because I used to be a provost, because I will be doing the same job as them.” Lisa Freeman Provost
“The administrative adjustment is contingent on continued occupancy of the position and is forfeited upon return to the faculty,” said Provost Lisa Freeman at a Faculty Senate meeting Wednesday. Freeman used her own contract to illustrate this. In 2013, then-Provost Raymond W. Alden earned a base salary of $300,000. In 2015, Freeman earned $203,500.08 with $76,500.00 in additional compensation, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education website. The $76,500.00 in additional compensation was the administrative adjustment.
Maggie Renfro | Northern Star
Provost Lisa Freeman addresses Faculty Senate on Wednesday in the Holmes Student Center, Sky Room. NIU is looking to restructure how salaries are contracted for academic administrators to reduce cases of overpaid and underpaid administrators. The restructuring will allow for salaries to adjust and reflect job responsibilities at the time.
If the former provost stepped down he would receive the same base salary of $300,000 for a departmental position. “If I go back to the faculty, I don’t want my colleagues to resent me because I used to be a provost, because I will be doing the same job as them,” Freeman said. The restructuring will look to address this by allowing fair placement into the department salary structure.
“Do I think we need to have this type of agreement for the departmental chair level, no, because I think we all understand that formula,” Freeman said. “But when I think you talk about deans and when you talk about provosts and presidents you absolutely have to have that structure.” Faculty compensation will also be examined and additional compensation will be based on merit and can be retroactive, Freeman said.
Freeman said the last salary equity study was done in 2008 externally and a new salary equity study should be done soon. “If we increase our data transparency so everybody can actually have confidence that the data [is] legitimate, should we be doing this on campus?” Freeman said. “Should it be a function in human resources? Should it be done on a regular basis? This is something we need to explore together.”
DeKalb | The Student Association Senate will look to pass a resolution to support a letter expressing higher education’s need for state funding to Gov. Bruce Rauner and the heads of both houses of the Illinois General Assembly. The potential losses in funding for higher education that the initiative addresses are a result of the eight-month state budget impasse, which has resulted from state lawmakers not agreeing with Rauner on a budget for Fiscal Year 2016. Until a budget is passed, state budget appropriations cannot be dispersed, including funding for higher education. Timothy Brandner, SA Senate sergeant at arms, has composed this letter in hopes that multiple Illinois higher education institutions will sign it before it is sent to state government officials. “Obviously, we want as many schools to support [the letter] as possible, and part of that is having an official NIU support,” Brandner said. Brandner plans to send the first set of budget initiative signatures to state government officials on Monday, the day before Chicago State University is expected to shut down due to a lack of state funding.
DeKalb hopes to have 10-year “ plan implemented by FY 2017 Read more
Scott Nicol Staff writer
DeKalb
| Implementation of
DeKalb’s 10-year strategic plan has already begun and the city is aiming to put the plan into full effect in Fiscal Year 2017. The 10- year Strategic Plan is a ten-year initiative that was created to guide city policy, budgeting and program development by combining residents’ ideas with DeKalb staff ’s. The plan includes short- and long-term goals, according to a Nov. 17 draft of the Strategic Plan. A unanimous vote by City Council members Monday allows City Manager Anne Marie Gaura and Project Coordinator Patty Hoppenstedt to begin fully adopting the 10-year strategic plan, Gaura said. The reasoning behind choosing FY 2017 to begin full implementation is because Dekalb will purchase software to enable project developers and community members to keep track of strategic planning process in the second half of FY 2016, Gaura said. “As staff [this] will help us monitor and manage implementation of the plan,” Gaura said. “Each of
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DeKalb County gets approval to fully implement 10-year strategic plan: bit.ly/21sNgRh City Council to vote on DeKalb 2025 Strategic Plan: bit.ly/1QeSHMx
Sara Karikomi | Northern Star
Fifth ward Alderman Kate Noreiko observes DeKalb Fire Department’s training video presentation at the City Council meeting Monday. City Council wants to have the 10-year strategic plan in full effect in Fiscal Year 2017.
these action plans that are included in the plan will be assigned a specific department [and] will be assigned a specific project coordinator. By having this software we will be able to track it, [City Council] will be able to monitor it [and] the community will be
able to monitor it. We will still move forward on implementing many of these items in the strategic plan, but as formal tying it into the document because of that technology and software our recommendation will be to officially tie it into FY 2017 process.”
Arts, Culture and Entertainment Corridor The DeKalb Area Arts Council motioned to table the Arts, Culture and Entertainment Corridor resolution until the next City Council meeting March 14, 5th ward Alderman Kate Noreiko said at the meeting. The Arts, Culture and Entertainment Corridor is based on existing arts-related businesses, venues and educational spaces. The corridor would formally designate this area as an arts concentration with work, retail, event and visitor spaces. Tabling the resolution until March 14 provides the Arts Council with time to review the resolution and make any appropriate changes before coming back to council, Noreiko said.
Obviously, we want as many schools to support [the letter] as possible, and part of that is having an official NIU support.” Timothy Brandner SA Senate sergeant at arms
Chicago State relies on state appropriations for about 30 percent of their budget, which equates to about $36 million in funding. If more signatures are received after Monday, they will still be sent to state government officials, Brandner said. Brandner electronically distributed the letter, which he finalized on Feb. 22, to representatives of roughly 60 to 70 higher education institutions. The Senate will vote on the resolution at their meeting Sunday. Representatives of other higher education institutions are being encouraged to create their own letters or resolutions to be sent to state government officials that explicitly state their support of the budget initiative crafted by the SA.
SA Senate meeting Time: 5 p.m. When: Sunday Where: Holmes Student Center, Sky Room.