All but three of Syracuse University’s deans have submitted proposed salary equity adjustments for faculty in their school or college, Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly said during Wednesday’s University Senate meeting.

The salary adjustment recommendations come in response to a recent Senate faculty salary report that found women faculty at SU earn less than their men colleagues on average.

Wheatly said that once all of the deans’ recommendations have been submitted, work can start to correct some of the pay inequity for women faculty. The goal is to have this completed by the end of the fiscal year in June.

Dana Cloud, a professor in SU’s communications and rhetorical studies department, asked Wheatly which deans had not yet submitted their recommendations, but Wheatly said she was only told a number, not names.

When Cloud pressed the issue and asked again, Wheatly joked that Cloud wanted to “bust” people.

“(The recommendations) are all trickling in,” Wheatly said. “The deadline is close, so we should expect to see the others soon. All the deans are in this room, so they’re all listening to this.”

Deborah Pellow, an anthropology professor, asked Wheatly what will happen after the adjustments are made. The vice chancellor said SU has made a commitment to address the faculty salary disparity now, and after adjustments are made, the administration will work with deans to continue any work that needs to be done.

Diane Lyden Murphy, dean of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, said there has been significant inequity among faculty salaries in Falk for years. She said she’s grateful to finally see progress to correct the issue. But she added that it’s easy to have progress and then lose it, if not careful.

“Going forward, once we correct (the disparity), what do we do?” Murphy said. “Because we’ll go right back into (inequity), if we don’t watch it.”

Murphy suggested that the SU administration work in conjunction with the Senate’s Women’s Concerns Committee and other groups “in a very robust way” to produce annual reports updating the campus community on the status of pay equity among faculty.

It’s important to strive toward some kind of parity so the university does not revert back and lose progress on the issue, the dean said.

LaVonda Reed, associate provost for faculty affairs, said the faculty salary committee will be able to continue analysis of faculty pay at the university after the adjustments are made.

Other business

Faculty on Wednesday also discussed the proposed name change to the Senate Committee for Diversity. Members of the committee recommended in their report that the name be changed to the Committee on Race and Ethnicity.

The reasoning behind the name change, the report stated, is that there are already established committees focused on specific identity groups, such as the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Asexual Justice and Advocacy and the Committee on Women’s Concerns. But there’s not a specific committee dedicated to race or ethnicity.

While some senators agreed with the proposed name change, others said they worried about the absence of a committee focused more largely on diversity and the intersection of various identities.

Murphy said that, while it’s important to have a committee focused on race and ethnicity, the Senate currently does not have a committee for every identity group. For example, she said, there’s no committee for people with disabilities.

The proposed name change was not put to a vote Wednesday, but was presented for discussion. The change would require an update to the current Senate bylaws.

Published on March 8, 2018 at 1:05 am

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann