Staff get pay raises despite deficits

For the second consecutive year, senior officers and professional and
administrative staff will receive a 3 percent pay increase in the midst
of a financial crisis.

But CMU officials say the benefits of the pay increase outweigh the
further strain it will put on the budget.

George Ross, vice president of Finance and Administrative Services,
said the pay raises help CMU commit quality education and services to
its students.

“If you don’t keep good people and stay competitive, you don’t keep
that commitment,” he said. “We are trying to stay as competitive as
possible.”

In all, 692 employees will receive the increase, of which 36 are
senior officers and 656 professional and administrative staff. CMU
officials could not translate the raise into how much it would cost the
university as of press time.

Ross said that with the current budget situation, a pay raise serves
to make it even more difficult to cope with.

“Does it put a strain (on the budget)? That is probably putting it
mildly,” Ross said of the pay raise. “It continues the challenge.”

Senior officers and professional and administrative staff —
positions such as admissions counselors, the director of admissions and
residence hall directors — also received a 3 percent increase in their
wages last year.

Not including any cuts or raises this year, in the past three years,
CMU has cut nearly $30 million from the budget and doled out more than
$13.2 million in raises during the past two years.