At the April 6 Staff Council meeting, UGA President Jere W. Morehead thanked staff for their service and asked for a continued collaborative effort to move forward UGA’s priorities.
“We face a number of unique challenges,” Morehead said. “If we can continue to work together and work through those issues to find solutions, then we are doing things to benefit this institution, its employees and its students.”
During Morehead’s remarks, he confirmed that UGA anticipates receiving a 3 percent merit-based raise pool for faculty and staff for fiscal year 2016-2017, in keeping with Gov. Nathan Deal’s recommendation. This increase will make it the third consecutive year of raises, and Morehead acknowledged there was still more work to be done to keep the university competitive in hiring and keeping “the best and brightest” faculty and staff.
“That will continue to be my highest priority at the General Assembly every year,” said Morehead, noting that the university lost ground to other institutions for compensation during and after the Great Recession. “It will take a sustained period of salary raises for UGA to get back to where it ought be in terms of faculty and staff compensation.”
Morehead also discussed the upcoming Staff Appreciation Day May 25.
“It’s a chance for the University of Georgia to say thank you,” he said.