Madison Initiative bolsters faculty, staff retention

The university spent nearly $7 million last year to bolster faculty and staff retention as part of the Madison Initiative.

The university awarded $6.94 million in competitive compensation to 2,106 faculty and academic staff members, according to a salary adjustment report presented to the UW System Board of Regents.

Retention and recruitment of top faculty and staff is one of the key priorities of the Madison Initiative, the university’s public-private investment plan to strengthen student learning and enhance Wisconsin’s economic development.

While some believed the Madison Initiative would provide an across-the-board pay raise for all faculty and staff on campus, in reality only 23.5 percent of professors and staff received competitive compensation adjustments in 1999-2000, UW System President Katharine Lyall told the Regents Business and Finance Committee Sept. 7.

“While $7 million is a big number, we anticipated it,” Lyall told the committee.

The board approved the report Sept. 8, as it is required to submit the data each year to the Legislature.

In addition to the Madison Initiative salary adjustments, UW–Madison reallocated $555,535 to retain 48 faculty and academic staff during 1999-2000, according to the report. These market base adjustments come from existing budgets and are awarded to counter outside offers or when there is evidence of a retention problem.

Overall, UW System schools last year provided salary adjustments for 528 faculty and staff totaling $928,428. Most of the adjustments – 423 – were at the UW Colleges, which is in the midst of a plan to boost salaries that is tied to enrollment gains.