Sabbaticals To Parking Lots, All Add To Costs
Barbara Altmann, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of French
April 17, 2013
Since bargaining began in December, United Academics has submitted a number of proposals outlining bargaining unit faculty benefits that, taken together, total millions of dollars.
For example, the proposal made on December 14 regarding sabbatical leaves asks for 100 percent of salary for faculty members who take a one-term leave. Faculty members who are away for two-terms would receive no less than 85 percent of salary and those who are gone for three terms would receive at least 75 percent.
No one questions that scholarly leave is appropriate to allow faculty time for study and research. The only question is how much would the union’s proposal cost?
The union could not estimate, so the University did its own cost-analysis.
Assuming the same number of sabbaticals are taken on average annually as were taken over the last three years, the union’s proposals would increase the total cost of faculty on sabbatical by just under $1 million per year, if non-bargaining unit faculty also qualified. This estimate is conservative, as it does not account for any increase in the number of faculty who might apply for sabbatical, or an increase in the average length of sabbaticals, if the more generous salary benefits became available.
United Academics has also proposed some perks in its proposals that would benefit its members when they’re on campus.
For example, the union’s December 14 proposal on “Facilities and Support” demands an increase in the number of bike lockers and cages and free bike parking for all faculty.
The same proposal demands electronic arms on all faculty / staff parking lots and that those lots are to be used exclusively by faculty.
Again, the University ran the numbers. Installing one parking arm in each of the 21 “faculty/staff only” lots would require about a $1 million investment. That doesn’t include the ongoing costs of maintenance, issuing parking cards, etc.
Just for comparison, equipping a new faculty member in the sciences with a research lab and start-up funding for GTFs can run up to $800,000.
Finite resources force choices. For a million dollars, it’s fair to ask: Which priority – a new lab or parking arms – better advances the UO mission?
