MADISON, Wis. â?? Gov. Jim Doyleâ??s administration promised Tuesday to look for ways to increase the lagging salaries of University of Wisconsin System faculty and academic staff.
The pledge came as the Legislatureâ??s Joint Committee on Employment Relations voted to give thousands of UW, nonunion state employees and elected officials 5 percent raises over the next 18 months. UW System President Kevin Reilly said the raises of 2 percent now, 2 percent in July and 1 percent in April 2009 would not be enough to keep top-notch professors and researchers in Wisconsin.
Reilly said the small increases will widen the gap between what employees make in Wisconsin and at other universities, which are giving bigger raises. Already, he said salaries are 8.5 percent behind peer universities for faculty and 20 percent behind for academic staff.