The UNC system’s leaders have the right mind-set in being alert to potential administrative poaching.
Instead of raising administrative salaries, which seems like the logical solution to the problem, system leaders have decided to maintain the previous policy decision of making faculty salaries a priority.
Given the current tools to maintain faculty and issues with faculty salary competitiveness, it’s the right move.
Leaders became worried about executive poaching when a number of chancellors were offered positions at other universities this year.
Even though none of the positions were successfully poached, the General Administration decided to look into the situation.
Bruce Carney, executive vice chancellor and provost at UNC, has stated that having the best faculty at system schools will keep the best administrators at the schools.
This is the perfect mind-set for this situation.
By retaining the best professors and department heads, UNC-system schools will remain competitive in the university job market.
On top of this, there is another tool that makes its schools competitive in a retention fight: There is a special fund designed specifically to combat poaching of system employees.
With the current budget struggles, this is a welcome tool.
The General Assembly has frozen salaries for state employees for the time being, so much-needed increases in faculty compensation would have to come from the legislature.
