Appointments, Tenure, And Salaries

Executive Bulletin:
July 31, 1925.

To put into definite form the practise of the college, the following statements are made relative to the resident teaching staff:

1. The organization of the general faculty and of its various divisions is explained on pages 10-12 of the annual catalog (1925). The faculty includes professors, associate professors, and assistant professors. Administrative officers are given faculty rank as indicated in the faculty directory printed in the catalog. Other members of the staff attend faculty meetings as requested.

2. In addition to the foregoing faculty ranks, the teaching staff is composed of instructors, teaching fellows, assistants, and student-assistants. As a rule instructors are employed for full time, and the others are employed for part time. Teaching fellows are graduate students (from this or some other recognized college) whose scholastic records are high enough to justify such appointment. Assistants are graduate students (from this or some other recognized college) ; and student-assistants are undergraduate students at this college, usually seniors.

3. Appointments as heads of instructional departments are made upon recommendations of the deans concerned; and appointments of all other members of the teaching staff are made upon recommendations of the heads of the departments concerned. All appointments to ranks down to and including that of instructor are made by the Board of Visitors upon recommendation of the president of the college (the latter being based upon the recommendations of deans and heads of departments as aforesaid). Teaching fellows, assistants, and student-assistants are appointed by the president of the college, after consulting the council of administration, and are reported to the Board of Visitors.

4. Appointments to the faculty (i. e., professors, associate professors, and assistant professors) are of indefinite tenure, and are to be considered as permanent until notice is given to the contrary, except where they are designated as “acting.” Appointments to “acting” positions in the faculty, and all appointments to ranks below that of assistant professor are made for one year only, and if continued must be as new appointments each year.

5. Members of the faculty (i. e., professors, associate professors, and assistant professors) who are not to be continued will be notified as promptly as possible, and anyone not receiving such a notice prior to May 1 may understand that it is desired that he shall continue as a member of this faculty. If a member of the faculty on his own part desires to sever his connection with the college, he should notify the president as promptly as possible, and not later than May 1, except under extraordinary circumstances.

6. Members of the faculty are employed on two different time bases, namely, for nine months and eleven months respectively; but the salaries of all are paid in twelve equal monthly instalments. Thus the annual vacation period (exclusive of the Christmas holidays) is three months in the case of nine months’ members and one month in the case of eleven months’ members. In some of the positions of the latter group it is necessary that the work be carried on during the entire twelve months of the year, and the incumbent is expected to provide for a substitute during the time he is on vacation. Whether employed for nine or eleven months, all members of the faculty are expected to be present at the college at least one week prior to the opening of the fall quarter and to remain sufficiently long after commencement to get into the office all grades for their students. It is also presumed that every member of the faculty, regardless of a specific requirement or a definite request, will be sufficiently interested in his work here to be present whenever his services are needed, whether during his vacation period or otherwise. Responsibilities for departmental organization, care of equipment, planning of work for the approaching session, etc., are upon all of the members of the faculty; and moreover all are expected to assume some share in the general administration of the college, doing whatever they can in vacation or at other times for its general welfare and progress.

7. The salaries of members of the faculty are paid in accordance with a salary schedule, which establishes a minimum and maximum amount for each faculty rank. Ordinarily, a member is started with the lowest amount for his group. Heretofore it has been usually the practise to automatically increase his salary by $100 a year until the maximum for the group is reached. Exceptions have been made to this where there have been peculiar circumstances, as for instance where a member has joined our faculty after years of experience elsewhere. No obligation has been, or will be, assumed by the college to promote a member of the faculty to the next higher group when he has reached the maximum amount for his rank, as this must depend upon factors other than the worthiness of the individual. Again, the right has always been, and must continue to be, reserved not to follow any stated practise of increasing salaries each year up to a maximum, if this does not appear to the administration to be desirable by reason of lack of funds or for other reason.

8. The salary schedule that has prevailed for the last two or three years, showing minimum and maximum for each group is:

These amounts are cash salary, and no perquisites are promised in addition to same. Houses owned by the college and occupied by professors are rented to them, and the rentals are paid out of the cash salaries paid them.

9. For two years or more a study has been under way as to the whole question of the basis for promotion in rank and increase in salary, in the effort to find a more desirable system, fairer to everybody concerned. It seems quite evident that the time of service basis is not adequate, and that while length of service should enter as a factor it should not be the only factor. It has, therefore, been quite definitely determined that, in addition to the length of service factor, such factors as these will be considered in making promotions and increases in salaries, namely, the pursuit of advanced studies and researches in the respective fields of specialization of members of the faculty to better prepare them for their work here, the securing of advanced degrees from institutions of high standing for graduate work, the extraordinary service rendered the college in the development of their respective departments such as, for example, the securing of valuable equipment as gifts, and so on.

10. For several years a continuous and earnest effort has been made by the administration to increase materially the amounts in the salary schedule. Three chief obstacles have hindered progress in this direction. First, there has been the ever-present limitation of funds. Second, there has been the feeling that the house rental system has been altogether inequitable, as between occupants and non-occupants of college-owned houses on the one hand, and as between occupants of very small and inexpensive houses and the occupants of large and expensive houses on the other hand -- all paying the same rental. Third, there has been the equally inequitable situation of members of the faculty required to be continuously on duty at the college thruout eleven or twelve months of the year, receiving no more compensation than members required to be on duty only nine months, and free to accept employment in the summer quarter here, or positions elsewhere, for additional compensation, which their less fortunate colleagues of the same rank and merit were barred from receiving. We have now apparently found a way of removing all of these obstacles, and it is hoped that the result will be a far more equitable and satisfactory salary schedule. These three phases of the matter are discussed successively in the next three paragraphs.

11. The state appropriations for the current biennium (1924-26) were made on a basis of the pay-rolls of 1923 and made no provision whatever for increasing salaries. Fortunately, however, we have been able to considerably increase our local revenues during the biennium, and are justified in making increases in salaries for the remainder of the present appropriation year (i. e., to March 1, 1926). Requests for appropriations for the next biennium (1926-1928) will be made on the basis of the new salary schedule, and there is reason to hope that these increased amounts will be granted. It must be distinctly understood that salary increases made now under this new schedule, and that promises for the carrying out of the new schedule in future years, are made on the assumption that the General Assembly will provide the necessary amounts; and in case of failure to secure the necessary amounts it will of course be necessary for us to go back to the old salary schedule, or at least to reduce the amounts carried in the new schedule to come within the appropriations made. The schedule being once established, it should go without saying that we will make every effort to maintain it permanently.

12. Heretofore a uniform amount of $300 has been set as the rental of college-owned houses or as commutation for those not occupying such houses. The maximum salary of a professor has, therefore, been looked upon as being $3,300 in cash and $300 for house rental. Everyone must recognize that every house on the campus is worth more than $300 a year rental. It has seemed altogether desirable to establish a rental schedule made up in accordance with the relative values of the various houses. That this might be impartially done, a commission of three citizens of the community not connected with the college -- two from Blacksburg and one from Christiansburg was asked to set rental values on all of the college houses, just as if they were owned by private individuals and located (with premises attached) within the corporate limits of the town of Blacksburg. This rental list will be supplied to members of the faculty. In order to cover the increased rental which in most cases will result, the salary schedule for professors has been increased in every case by $300, making the amount recognized as for house rental or commutation $600 instead of $300 a year. For the coming year at least the rent for no house will be set at more than $600 a year, so that no occupant will find his present net cash compensation decreased by reason of the increased rental charged. On the other hand professors who do not occupy college houses will be better compensated by the full $300, and a great majority of those who occupy college houses will be better compensated by varying amounts. The new rental schedule will go into effect September 1, 1925.

13. The new salary schedule is made in two forms, first for members employed on the nine months’ basis, and second for members employed on the eleven months’ basis. The latter salaries are approximately two-ninths larger than the former. Those who are employed on the nine months’ basis will be subject to special calls for duty in case of necessity at any time during the twelve months, but they will except in very rare cases have full three months vacation in the summer, during which they may if they so elect accept positions here or elsewhere for extra compensation. Those who are employed on the eleven months’ basis will be understood as being employed for the full year of twelve months with one month vacation allowed at any time of the year that fits in best with the desires of the individual and with the work of his department, he being responsible to provide in some satisfactory manner for his department work during his absence, as heretofore. Members employed on the eleven months’ basis will not be permitted to receive anything additional for teaching in the summer quarter; but they will be expected to render such teaching service as may be called for in their respective departments, and which can be rendered without interfering with their departmental duties other than teaching, for the regular salary paid them without additional compensation from the summer quarter budget. It is particularly desirable that those who are employed jointly by the resident instruction division of the college and the experiment station see to it that their time thruout the eleven months is properly divided in accordance with the proportion for which they are paid from each source. If more than the proper proportion is taken for resident instruction during the fall, winter, and spring quarters, then the time should be made up to the station work during the summer.

14. The salary schedule that was adopted to go into effect as of July 1, 1925, for eleven months’ positions, and September 1, 1925, for nine months’ positions, showing maximum and minimum for each group, is:

These amounts are cash salary, and no perquisites are promised in addition to same. In making the increases shown by a comparison of this schedule with that given in paragraph 8, allowance has been made for the changed system of rental of houses, and in the case of the eleven months’ positions also for the additional two months’ compensation.

15. It is not possible to put into full effect the foregoing salary schedule this year, and the plan is to go as far as possible and reach the maximum as soon as we can. The available funds of the resident instruction division and of the experiment station enable these two divisions to go as far as $4,100 for eleven months’ professors; and the funds of the extension division permit going as far as $3,600. Salaries for this year in other groups will be made as large as possible, but there again it is not possible to go to the maximum except for nine months’ professors of maximum rank. The coming General Assembly will be asked to allow appropriations sufficient to put the new schedule into full effect.

16. The maximum and minimum measure the salary range for each faculty rank. When the maximum for any rank is reached there is no obligation whatever to promote to the next higher rank and thereby increase the salary, as promotion in rank depends on factors other than length of service or merit of the individual. The salary range for each rank is a permissible range, and not a mandatory range except as setting limits; i. e., the schedule will not operate automatically each year to increase a salary until the maximum is reached. Increases will depend upon: (1) the availability of the necessary funds: (2) the merit of each individual case; and (3) the staff organization and relationship of the members thereof. Ordinarily when increases are made they will be made at the rate of $100 a year; but this is not to be expected every year by everybody who has not reached the maximum for his group.

17. Salaries for members of the faculty who are jointly employed by the resident instruction division and some other division usually start from July 1, and those for members employed for resident instruction alone will usually start from September 1. Increases in salaries will follow this practise. Consequently, members employed on the eleven months’ basis and whose salaries have been increased under the provision of this new schedule, will receive their instalments for July, 1925, on the new basis; and those employed for nine months will receive their salaries on the new schedule beginning September 1, 1925. The new rental list for all will be put into effect September 1, 1925.

18. Instructors are employed for only one year at a time, and their salaries are fixed without reference to a set schedule. They range usually from $1,000 to $1,600, but may in exceptional cases be either below or above this range. They are fixed in accordance with the time required of the instructor, the professional preparation and experience which he has had, and the type of work which he is called upon to do. Assistants are as a rule graduate students devoting only a portion of their time to the duties of the position. Ordinarily they are paid $300 for the nine months’ service, but if they are awarded teaching fellowships they are paid $400. In a few cases assistants are appointed to give considerably more than the usual time to the work of the position and their compensation is increased accordingly, so that it may range as high as $600, or even more in exceptional cases. Sometimes also an assistant may be employed for only one-half of the time usually required of an assistant, and he is therefore paid less than $300. The same applies to student-assistants, the only difference being that they are undergraduates.

If anything in this bulletin is not clearly understood by any member of the staff, I shall be glad to explain further.

Julian A. Burruss, President.