Out-of-state universities are luring top faculty from Utah schools, a trend higher-education officials attribute to a roughly $24 million gap between the state's wages and national averages.
Slowing that trend is a top priority for Utah System of Higher Education in the upcoming 2006 Legislature. Commissioner of Higher Education Rich Kendell wants lawmakers to give Utah's top performing faculty one more incentive to stay with an additional $5 million in retention funds.
Those funds are critical, Kendell said, because the faculty members most often wooed away are accomplished professors who have earned national acclaim, bringing expertise and money to state schools.
"It's the Urban Meyer effect. You have people who win football games or in academic life, science prizes, and all of a sudden they have offers flowing in from other places," Kendell said, referring to the successful, yet short-time, University of Utah football coach. "Most of the people are not anxious to leave, but they get caught between wanting to stay and making significantly more money elsewhere."
Salary comparisons from the state's 10 public institutions of higher education show almost half of state-funded faculty and staff earn less than 90 percent of the national average for university and college wages.
Those lower salaries — on average about $7,697 below national figures — add up to a $23.6 million shortfall between what Utah pays for faculty and what other state systems are offering, according to a report by the Utah System of Higher Education.
Although the $5 million request will still leave Utah faculty far behind the national average, it may be enough to hold on to some faculty that are getting higher offers from other states, he said.
"We'd at least have a little chunk of money to say, 'Stay here in Utah, we may not be able to match the salary you're getting elsewhere, but we'll try to do a little better,' " Kendell said.
At the University of Utah, for example, 947 out of 2,573 state-funded faculty members earn below 90 percent of the national average, an average shortfall of about $9,000 per employee. In all, the U. would need about $8.6 million to bring its salaries in line with national averages, according to the USHE report.
Bringing university and college pay up to par is also a high priority for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who bumped the initial request up to $10 million in his proposed budget.
That amount also includes merit increases for key faculty, but the majority of it would be given to universities to use at their discretion for counteroffers or raises to retain top faculty, said Kim Hood, budget analyst for the governor's office.
"We want to keep our competitive position. Utah's got a wonderfully high-quality education system and we don't want to lose that," she said. "We need to be constantly attracting faculty and staff to keep our edge."
The Legislature gave $2.5 million in retention funds last year, which were dispersed among the state's institutions. The University of Utah, for example, used roughly $700,000 of its $837,900 allotment to give compensation adjustments to 64 faculty and 35 staff members.
In all, 371 faculty and 113 staff received a portion of the retention funds, according to a USHE report.
Getting more funds for "preemptive strikes" against losing faculty and making counteroffers is critical at the University of Utah, said David Pershing, senior vice president for academic affairs at the U.
Pershing said many faculty are getting offers up to $40,000 above their current annual salary, an amount that's hard to turn down even for faculty not seeking a new job.
Pershing said the U. used about 80 percent of last year's retention funds to increase salaries and kept about 20 percent in reserves to combat counteroffers from other universities.
"This is where somebody is being attacked by another university. This is occurring more often now because the University of Utah is increasing in stature," Pershing said. "I'm fighting off about one a week."
John DeVilbiss, spokesman for Utah State University, said roughly 25 to 50 percent of faculty cite salary as a main reason why they leave the university, he said.
Utah State reported losing 157 faculty over a four-year period, including a dean and vice president who both left for out-of-state positions with higher salaries.
"We feel like the people who come here and work are happy. Nevertheless, there are a lot of temptations out there," DeVilbiss said. "We can't afford to lose these seasoned faculty members. We simply can't."
The "targeted approach" to retention is key to the state's plan, Kendell said, which will reward top performers that are at risk of leaving their positions or are particularly valuable to a university. Much of the funding will go toward faculty who bring grants and research money in tow, Kendell said.
If the state is not able to compete, he said schools will likely pump more money into hiring new faculty.
"You might as well spend a little bit less to keep people than to go and recruit people. If you could retain your very best, that's just smart," he said. "It's a lot easier to hang on to someone than trying to attract someone."
E-mail: estewart@desnews.com