Dear Students,
Currently, only about 27% of your tuition dollars go to faculty (professor, instructor, researcher and librarian) salaries. That’s it, about a quarter. Not too long ago it was about a third, but either way what is your tuition paying for, if it is not paying for your education? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Of course, universities are big places, and there are myriad things necessary to support your education. Some of these costs are included in tuition, but many are not. Administrators (people who work in Johnson Hall, or in buildings off campus you never see) are directing more tuition money to themselves, and less to your education.
We think this situation cannot stand. We think erosion in faculty wages and working conditions directly impacts your education, and the value of a degree from the University of Oregon. We have already seen how our salaries, currently the lowest in the Big-10, have lead many of our best faculty to look elsewhere for employment. Indeed many faculty have already left, and we are having increasing difficulty attracting new faculty.
Quite simply, the quality of your education is at risk. The value of your degree is at risk. And you’re paying more for it than ever before.
Our asks are simple: raises which cover inflation and bring us up to the average salary of our peers. This is not an extravagant cost, and can be achieved by returning the amount of your tuition dollars going to faculty salaries to its pre-pandemic levels.
We’re here for your education, and we hope you are here with us as we fight not only for fair increases to our compensation and working conditions, but also for the value of a degree from the University of Oregon.