University of North Texas

Dec. 9, 2014

Dear faculty and staff,

One of the priorities in our 2014-15 ation plan is to better support and reward our employees. We heard repeatedly throughout the planning implementation process that we should do better at this, because it is key to having a strong culture of service and a positive work environment.

As we work toward making UNT a more rewarding place to work, we’ve been reviewing areas where we can address compensation issues that need our attention. Our first step this fall was to provide merit raises in recognition of our many outstanding faculty and staff members.

Building on that momentum, we are establishing salary floors for faculty, setting a base salary to ensure that we are competitive in the marketplace and that we’re supporting quality educators from the start. The new salary floor will apply to current faculty and new hires, regardless of their discipline or college. Starting in January, we will ensure:

• All faculty with the rank of assistant, associate or professor currently making less than $60,000 will be moved to the $60,000 base. 
• All lecturers and clinical faculty ranks making less than $43,500 will be moved to the $43,500 base.
• Adjusted salaries will go into effect Jan. 1 and will be included in paychecks starting Feb. 1. Salaries will be adjusted based on a faculty member’s FTE. Faculty receiving a salary adjustment will be notified this month. If you have questions, contact the Provost’s Office at 940-565-2550.

With this change, we’re now offering a baseline competitive market salary for faculty. It also will ensure that faculty are more fairly rewarded for their time and qualifications as they start and build their careers with UNT. This will affect 97 current faculty members out of 1,055.

We’ve long had base starting salaries for staff positions to give staff members a clear salary entry point. This change will create a similar compensation floor for faculty, consistent with their qualifications and national norms. We understand that this first step may create salary compression, which will be addressed with future merit adjustments.

Our higher mission at UNT is to prepare the leaders of tomorrow, and faculty are at the center of that because they are the educators. If we want to provide a high-quality education, we must hire and retain high-quality faculty. This is a good, initial step in that direction. It’s an investment in our people, and that one pays the best dividends for our students.

UNT proud,

Neal Smatresk

President