State of University address kicks off
new academic year
MURFREESBORO,
Tenn. — MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee stressed the challenges of
increasing student retention and faculty salaries in the face of limited
funding resources during his traditional State of the University address
Thursday (Aug. 18) inside Tucker Theatre.
Entering
his 16th year leading the largest Tennessee Board of Regents campus,
McPhee kicked off the newest academic year by reminding the hundreds of faculty
and staff in attendance of the many accomplishments over the past year both
academically — such as the first graduates of the popular new mechatronics
program — as well as athletically — including the men’s basketball team’s
historic upset of Michigan State during the NCAA tournament.
McPhee
pointed to the university’s ongoing Quest for Student Success initiative to
improve retention and graduation rates and noted the completion this past
spring of a reaccreditation review by
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
But
McPhee also reminded the near capacity crowd of the ongoing funding challenges
facing Tennessee higher education. Whereas 35 years ago the state of Tennessee
provided nearly 70 percent of higher ed funding, with tuition dollars providing
almost all of the rest, today those percentages “have essentially flipped,” he
said.
“You
don’t need an advanced degree to understand that the burden has shifted” to
students and their families, he said. “What is most troubling with this
situation is that, while state support for higher education has declined, the
state Legislature and our own Board of Regents have also stressed the need to limit
tuition increases in an effort to control costs.”
The TBR
increased MTSU’s tuition by only 2.6 percent this fall as higher education
officials seek to stem the trend of significant tuition increases each year
over the past decade.
McPhee
was pleased the most recent state budget gave an additional $3.7 million to
MTSU, but he pointed out the budget did not include dedicated funds for salary
increases for university faculty and staff, meaning MTSU has to address
salaries using the same funds needed for repairs, new technology and increased
fixed costs such as ongoing maintenance, he said.
In
addressing the issue of faculty salaries, McPhee noted that a recently
completed salary survey done internally showed that MTSU faculty salaries “are
below market when compared to similar public institutions.”
“Despite
these challenges, I remain committed, as I have been throughout my tenure, to
enhancing the salaries of our faculty and staff, while maintaining the
integrity of our academic programs,” he said.
McPhee
said he will seek approval from the TBR in September to raise the pay of
faculty identified in the salary survey as being below the established minimum
pay ranges. Remaining funds would go toward a proposed 1 percent raise for
eligible employees, although the final
percentage increase will not be determined until after fall enrollment figures
are known in the coming weeks. If approved, all increases will be
effective Oct. 1.
McPhee
touched briefly on the coming transition from TBR oversight to governance by a
local Board of Trustees as part of Gov. Bill Haslam’s FOCUS Act reforms. He
hopes the state will revisit its funding formula to better support MTSU’s
ability to produce thousands of graduates each year, many of whom remain in the
region to enhance the Midstate workforce and attract business and industry.
The
university remains the No. 1 producer of graduates in the TBR and for the
Greater Nashville region and economy; it is also the No. 1 choice of
Tennessee’s transfer students and of students 25 years and older.
“All of
these are crucial elements to our state’s goal to have 55 percent of
Tennesseans earn a post-secondary educational credential,” he said.
“As we
move into a new era of governance and accountability, I would like to see us
rewarded in the funding formula for the sheer volume of graduates we produce,
so that we could have resources to address critical needs.”
Faculty awards
Another
tradition at the Fall Faculty Meeting is the annual presentation of the MTSU
Foundation Awards, which recognize faculty members for accomplishments inside
and outside the classroom.
This
year’s recipient of the Career Achievement Award, considered the pinnacle of
recognition for MTSU professors, was Michael Brian Hein, a professor of
psychology at MTSU since 1990 and the director of MTSU's Center for
Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness.
Nineteen
other faculty members were also presented individual awards.
McPhee
also presented his President’s Student Success Award, which is given to a
university department “to recognize innovation and proven results in helping
our students succeed.”
This
year’s winner is the Department of Computer Science, which receives a $20,000
recurring award. McPhee also presented a runner-up to the Department of Theatre
and Dance, which will receive a $10,000 award.
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