PSU faculty and administration forward agreement to Regents

Representatives for the Pittsburg State University faculty bargaining unit and the PSU administration have reached an agreement on the 2007-2008 academic year contract. The faculty voted on the agreement during finals week.

The agreement will now be forwarded to the Kansas Board of Regents for approval at its June meeting.

Dr. Paul Zagorski, president of PSU-KNEA, and Dr. Orville Brill, spokesperson for the PSU administration, said this was the final year of a three-year contract.

Dr. Zagorski said the discussion this year focused primarily on salary “although we did clarify some language. There were essentially some editorial corrections.”

This year, faculty who met job performance expectations will get a 4 percent raise. Some faculty will get more based on promotions or exceptional performance. If the Regents approve the agreement in June, faculty will receive the increase at the start of the fall semester.

Brill said it was a good year at the bargaining table. He described it as “an amicable process.”

With regard to the size of the salary increase, Zagorski said most faculty understood it was much as could be expected from the university based on the action of the Kansas Legislature. The Legislature’s allocation did not meet the increase in the annual cost of living.

The Kansas Legislature appropriated a 2 percent increase plus an $860 bonus. Funds for the salary increase above the legislative appropriation are allocated from other sources at the university.

In the fall, Zagorski said PSU-KNEA will conduct a survey of the faculty to determine issues of concern in preparation for next year’s contract talks.

---Pitt State---