Message from the President
November 15, 2017
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for your efforts this past year. As we enter our third year as UTRGV, we have a great deal to be proud of. Some but by no means all of your accomplishments have been highlighted in news stories over the past year and as part of the annual report focused on core priorities and the Provost’s report with college highlights. I encourage you to read both.
Although we continue to make significant progress, we also still face significant challenges. The most immediate challenge is enrollment. Although this fall we welcomed our largest freshman class to date and continue to report a first-year retention rate above 79% and a second-year retention rate of 68.6%, our graduate enrollment has declined substantially. This decline in graduate enrollment creates significant challenges that impact what the university is trying to achieve. It is the responsibility of all of us to help reverse this decline. Please work with your supervisors, Chairs/Directors, and Deans to find out how you can help.
A second challenge is the $24 million reduction in our state appropriations. As shared in earlier messages, our budget challenges can be significantly ameliorated by enrollment growth. In the current context, our own efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified students at both the undergraduate and graduate level takes on added importance. Going forward, the most successful institutions will be those that minimize their dependence on state appropriations.
In spite of these reductions in state appropriations, we continue to be committed to competitive compensation for our faculty and staff. It is our faculty and staff who make UTRGV a success. This is why we allocated approximately $5 million this past fiscal year to equity, inversion, and compression adjustments. Adjustments for faculty and staff were made throughout the 2016 academic year; another 1,115 classified staff will receive a salary increase effective December 1. The Office of Human Resources will be sending a communication to all supervisors with details on this latest review.
While we are very pleased that we were able to allocate $5 million in salary adjustments, we also recognize that this amount is only a first step toward resolving our salary issues. To continue our focus on competitive compensation, we will continue the soft hiring freeze begun last fall. Any new hiring will require the approval of the Vice President in whose area the position lies. If enrollment (especially graduate enrollment) for Spring and Summer 2018 is strong, we can make further progress on the commitment to competitive salaries while maintaining the long-term fiscal health of the institution.
Thank you again for all you do for UTRGV.
Sincerely,
Guy Bailey
President