Faculty 'raiding' at all-time high

IU continues to lose valued tenure-line professors to other universities and private institutions because of the "raiding" of its faculty members, meaning top faculty leave the University for more attractive, higher paying jobs at other institutions, said IU officials. \n"The level of faculty raiding by other institutions is currently at an all-time high for this year and the previous academic year," said College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean David Zaret. \nOutside offers were made to 55 COAS faculty members during the 2005-2006 academic year, said Zaret. Of those faculty members, 20 have accepted the offers and will leave IU. \n"(IU has suffered) grievous losses over the past few years, especially among the ranks of recently tenured faculty and faculty recently promoted to full professor," Zaret said. "This group represents future intellectual leadership -- it is a group of rising stars." \nThese rising stars fall to raiding by highly-ranked institutions. IU has lost faculty members to institutions such as the University of Michigan, Northwestern University and Oxford University, among others, Zaret said. \n"There are different reasons for faculty to explore employment at other institutions," Zaret said. "In some cases, personal or lifestyle considerations may be important; for example, relocating to an area near one's family. But in most cases, faculty members are concerned with an optimal place for their research and teaching." \nWhile it is a growing concern, this is not a new problem. University Chancellor Ken Gros Louis addressed the issue at a 2005 board of trustees meeting when he said, "All of the schools in Bloomington are facing significant challenges of other institutions raiding (our faculty)." \nAll schools on the Bloomington campus -- including the Kelley School of Business, the Jacobs School of Music and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs -- have been affected by raiding, but none as much as the College of Arts and Sciences. \nWhile some faculty members may simply prefer a different environment and others may enjoy the thrill of a new challenge, sometimes another institution offers greater resources and newer facilities than can be found at IU, said Jeanne Sept, vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of the faculties. \n"Because of dwindling state support, our classroom and office buildings have deteriorated ... and the campus has had to turn to private donors to fund the new, state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities that faculty demand and deserve," Sept said. "Sadly, some of our colleagues have become discouraged by the lack of state support, and have decided to leave." \nThe raid on IU faculty members has created a huge strain on the University's budget. In an attempt to retain faculty members who are offered positions elsewhere, salary matches are attempted but not always possible, Sept said. \n"At IU-Bloomington, there is a disparity between the outstanding quality of our faculty and relatively low salaries, compared to salaries at other public and private research universities," Zaret said.\nIU operates at a competitive disadvantage compared to private research universities with deeper pockets, Zaret said. Those institutions are able to offer higher salaries to their faculty members. \nSept said that faculty salaries at IU are among the lowest in the Big Ten. \nAs IU Dean of Faculties, Sept attempts to support faculty members by guiding them through tenure and promotion. Sept said deans attempt to retain their faculties by reassuring them of IU's commitment to academia, in addition to attempting to increase salaries. She said former COAS Dean Kumble Subbaswamy retained several key science faculty members by securing the funding for the two new multidisciplinary science buildings, one of which is currently under construction. \nDespite the raids, Zaret said the overall size of the COAS faculty has increased slightly in the past few years. There are about 800 tenure-line faculty members in COAS, Zaret said, and about 1,400 on the entire campus. \nSept cited the quality of the current faculty, the high caliber of the University's schools and Bloomington's diverse offerings as attractive characteristics to potential faculty members. \n"We pride ourselves in recruiting outstanding faculty members to come to IUB, and Bloomington has one of the best faculties of any university in the country," Sept said. "It is no surprise that other universities covet our faculty and try to lure them away. They are jealous"