Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

The California State University system may have more to worry about other than just the issue of state budget cuts.

According to the California Faculty Association, if the faculty salary gap between California and other states continues to grow at its current pace, "California may lose the competitive edge in hiring the best people to teach in its universities."

Patricia Evridge Hill, president of the San Jose State University chapter and statewide secretary of the California Faculty Association said that CSU faculties are, "being paid 12 percent below the average of what other universities are paying."

According to the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the 12 percent refers to the percentage of average salaries in the State University which would have to increase in order to equal the average salaries projected to be paid by the comparison institutions in 2003-04.

Hill said because of the recent state budget cut backs, she does not think the gap will be closing in any time soon.

"We're not going to be able to close the 12 percent gap when the government is cutting back funds in the CSU system," she said. " The people of California need to think very seriously about being more willing to invest in public universities."

Hill said she fears that the growing disparity in the pay gap will lead to a decline in quality of faculties and students.

"For the past couple of years, faculty from the CSU have been moving out of the state," Hill said. " Teachers are going everywhere because, unless you go to Hawaii, this is a very expensive area to live in."

The growing gap in faculty salaries between California and other states is an issue that not only concerns faculty but students too.

More and more students are going to be affected as senior faculty members retire, the CSU and the California Faculty Association are going to lose a lot especially when we have to compete to hire quality faculty, Hill said.

For Laila Rodriguez, a junior majoring in kinesiology, there is more at stake as the CSU system has a reputation to uphold.

"We are one of the biggest state systems and in order to maintain that as well as a good reputation, I think that the teachers should be paid more than they are," Rodriguez said.

Clara Potes-Fellow, spokeswoman for the CSU, said the issue of quality faculty is taken very seriously by the chancellor's office.

"CSU offers salaries that are competitive nationally," she said.

Potes-Fellow said the average salary for all tenure track faculties in the CSU system is $72, 999 and $83, 490 for full-time professors.

In regards to SJSU, Potes-Fellow said that the salaries of faculty are included in the system wide averages.

"In recent years, San Jose has had one of the highest average starting salaries for new faculty in the system," she said.

"The CSU has been very successful in hiring and retaining high quality faculty. Offering competitive faculty salaries continues to be a priority of the CSU," Potes-Fellow said.

Peter C. Lee, associate vice president of faculty affairs, said the SJSU faculty salary is a "collective bargaining issue that is negotiated between the CSU and the California Faculty Association at the system level."

Lillian Taiz, the statewide vice president of the California Faculty Association, said she thinks that the chancellor's office lacks commitment to the faculties and students.

"Many of us are disillusioned," she said. "They've had their chances but instead they are expanding their own waistline."

Taiz said she does not expect this issue between the California Faculty Association and the CSU to be resolved this year.

"We know this can't be settled this year," she said. "We understand the budget situation but at the back of our minds we know not to get our hopes high."

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