DePaul faculty, staff awarded one-time payment due to budget surplus

DePaul administrators announced that university faculty and staff will receive a one-time payment on Friday, May 20, according to Newsline.

Due to “increased financial pressure faculty and staff are facing due to the current inflationary environment,” the payment amount to respective employees is based on compensation level, the article stated.

The statement, penned by President A. Gabriel Esteban, Provost Salma Ghanem and Executive Vice President Sherri Sidler, cited a moderate operating surplus as means for the payment.

The structure of payments was approved by the Board of Trustees, according to Newsline.. DePaul’s Strategic Resources Allocation Committee recommended the payment to the board and it was endorsed by President Esteban.

Faculty and staff earning a baseline salary up to $50,000, will receive a $2,000 payment, those earning between $50,001 and $100,000 will receive $1,500 and those earning between $100,101 and $120,000 will be given a payment of $1,000. Part-time faculty and staff will receive $700.

Faculty Council President Sonia Soltero emailed the following statement to The DePaulia on the recent budget approval:

“The one-time payment that was proposed by the Strategic Resource Allocation Committee (SRAC) and then approved by the President and the Board of Trustees was a welcomed financial increment for faculty and staff, especially for those in the lower salary rungs. For the past few years, administration’s budget tightening has resulted in salary freezes, departmental cuts, and hiring freezes. This resulted in increased workloads and stress as well as worsening of morale, compounded by the stressors and traumatic times of the pandemic.

This one-time payment, coupled with the 2% salary raise and 403b match reinstatement which were approved in Fall 2021, shows a good faith effort by the executive administration and the Board to ameliorate the losses we incurred and to recognize faculty and staff’s enduring dedication and commitment to our students during a global pandemic and under financial constraints.”