Several staff members can look forward to a $1,000 pay raise in a little over a week.
But for the majority of professors and public safety officers, November 5 will be little more than yet another hard day at work. That’s because, for these employees, there is no additional compensation in sight.
The university announced that a salary increase will be granted to eligible employees, excluding most professors and public safety officers.
The decision to offer certain employees raises and denying others is unfair for a number of reasons.
Providing a pay raise to one group while excluding the other has the potential to cause unnecessary friction within the university. It is also an inaccurate reflection of the faculty’s importance.
Students at FAMU rely on the skill and dedication of the professors more than any other university employees. These are the people who most students interact with on a daily basis and seek out in times of struggle. They are often the faces we remember as we cross the stage. Sometimes they are the overgrown cheerleaders who motivate us when we don’t think this moment is possible.
While staff members, like janitorial employees certainly provide an important and often thankless service to the student body, don’t the hardworking professors who make our matriculation possible deserve a raise as well?
In addition to providing students with the information and support needed to graduate and thrive in the workplace, faculty members often use personal expenses to improve their students’ learning environment.
Too often have I heard faculty members casually tell stories about how they used their own money for the sake of their students only to find themselves struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month. Surely these professors could use an extra grand just like the one administrative and technical employees will soon be lining their pockets with.
This is not a public relations piece for every faculty member who has passed through this campus. While I have certainly encountered the occasional undesirable faculty member, most of my interactions have been positive and, yes, occasionally raise-worthy.
Professors are not the only hard-working employees who deserve a little extra cash.
What about the public safety officers who put their lives at risk?
Students also rely on the FAMU Department of Public Safety officers who patrol campus. Though they might not be the average student’s favorite university employees, they certainly provide an important service and are notoriously underpaid.
These individuals respond to everything from minor infractions to major incidences and face a certain degree of danger every time they make their way onto campus.
These employees contribute to the overall mission of the university and can provide students with peace of mind and reasonable safety.
Though professors and police officers serve the university in two very different ways, they contribute to its overall success.
A university’s reputation is built on the quality of its students. These students can only become successful with the help of professors and a certain degree of safety as they make their way across campus. A raise for those who make the success of this university possible is little to ask when one considers the daily sacrifices these employees make and the overwhelming service they provide.