Donation requests frustrate staff after pay freeze

IU support staff member Bryce Smedley said he was confused when he received an invitation to donate money to IU’s “Matching the Promise” campaign.

He said he and several other staff members were insulted by the invitations to give back to the institution after the University implemented a salary freeze.

On Oct. 14, the University sent an e-mail to faculty and staff members asking them to join IU President Michael McRobbie and his wife, Laurie Burns McRobbie, for wine and hors d’oeuvres to launch the “Matching the Promise” campus campaign, which began
in 2003 to help fund scholarships and fellowships.

“I think some people are a little miffed,” Smedley said. “One, we didn’t get raises this year, and two, a lot of us are making $10 to $11 an hour. If you have to make a car payment, you don’t have a lot left over.”

Smedley said he supports the fundraiser, but he can’t give this year after the University implemented a salary freeze for the 2009-10 school year because of the difficult economy.

Smedley said he thinks the requests to give back show a disconnect “between the top income earners on campus and the lowest income earners on campus” in the current economy.

“You don’t go to someone who’s struggling and ask them to donate to a campaign,” Smedley said. “You don’t go to someone who’s struggling to put food on the table for their family and ask them to give that food to somebody.”

Peter Kaczmarczyk, another member of the IU support staff and the president of its union, Communications Workers of America Local 4730, said while he supports the campaign, he and other staff members are still mad about not receiving the raise, which he said would give the workers a livable wage. He said this led to frustration about being asked to give money.   

“I think they could have toned down the rhetoric a little bit, like the reality of the economic climate this year, and perhaps made it not sound so fancy, so black-tie,” Kaczmarczyk said.

IU spokesperson Larry MacIntyre said President McRobbie supports the campaign, but realizes there will be criticism.

“It’s for a good purpose,” MacIntyre said. “We hope people over time will recognize that those contributions will have long term positive impact on Indiana University.”

Some faculty and staff members have found money to donate to the campaign, which started six years ago with a goal of $1 billion. In February the goal was increased to $1.1 billion.

IU Foundation spokeswoman Barbara Coffman said while she heard a few people declined to donate, faculty and staff have still given “a very impressive amount of money.”

“During the course of the Matching the Promise campaign, we’ve actually raised $18 million from faculty and staff so far,” Coffman said.

According to the IU Foundation’s Web site, the campaign was initiated to keep costs down for students, to help attract the best faculty and to build “high-quality teaching and researching facilities.”

Coffman said the campaign, which already reached the $1 billion mark, has raised $324 million for scholarships and fellowships, and that donors can choose how they want their money to be spent.

Kaczmarczyk said he has heard complaints, but Leslie Lenkowsky, a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said he has not heard anything from faculty members.

Lenkowsky said that might be because people usually make decisions to donate on an individual basis, but he also said if faculty and staff didn’t support the University with donations, there would be even worse cutbacks.

“The cost of an IU education exceeds the amount of tuition students pay,” said Lenkowsky, who has already made a donation. “One way we make up that difference is through these fundraising campaigns.”

Because of the state of the economy, Coffman said faculty and staff should not feel forced to donate.

“Of course it’s an opportunity to give if they wish,” Coffman said. “There’s no requirement, there’s no expectation. If people have interest in giving, they have the opportunity to do so.”