University Times

The 3 percent salary pool increase approved by the University’s Board of Trustees earlier this month will be distributed as follows: 2 percent for salary maintenance for employees with satisfactory performance and 1 percent for merit, market and equity adjustments at the unit level.

The increase, retroactive to the July 1 start of the fiscal year, will appear in September paychecks.

Part of the salary pool typically has been designated to address market imbalances, but “given the size of the pool and the fact that salaries were frozen last year, funds will not be held back from that pool for that purpose this year,” stated Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg in a July 26 University Update. Market imbalances are to be addressed in future years’ salary pool distribution recommendations, he stated.

The 3 percent salary pool increase is expected to place Pitt in a favorable competitive position, the chancellor stated, adding that many other universities are awarding smaller pay increases or imposing salary freezes or furloughs. The chancellor cautioned that lifting Pitt’s salary freeze is not a sign that the University’s economic challenges are over.

“Looking at the global economy, some experts believe that, even though a ‘double dip’ recession is unlikely, that possibility is less remote today than it was just a few months ago. The state budget passed earlier this month is built around $850 million in federal funding that has not yet been approved and that may not be approved, which would trigger serious problems for the state in the very short term. Locally, neither the Port Authority’s large budget deficit nor the city’s significant pension shortfall has yet been effectively addressed. And the ‘funding cliff’ that is expected to materialize when the federal stimulus program comes to an end now is less than one year away,” he stated.

“Further financial difficulties, then almost certainly await us. But given all that we faced during the past two years, our record of sustained progress is nothing short of remarkable. There is every reason to believe, then, that we will find ways to maintain our momentum, whatever new challenges may come our way.”

The full text of the chancellor’s update is available at www.chancellor.pitt.edu/news/2010-07-26.html.

— Kimberly K. Barlow