In an emailed correspondence on Thursday, DePaul president Robert Manuel notified faculty and staff that approved raises will take effect on Jan 1.

Because of the university’s increased financial hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic and declining enrollment, faculty and staff at DePaul went a 2-year drought before receiving a 2% raise in January 2022.

In October, census numbers indicated that enrollment through graduate programs and amongst transfer students was lower than expected, resulting in the news that DePaul will be operating in a deficit for the current fiscal year. In the wake of this news, the Strategic Resource Allocation Committee (SRAC) has focused on cost-saving strategies to implement amongst faculty and staff at DePaul in recent months, while trying to find room in the budget for employees to receive raises.

According to the email, once steps decided by SRAC to help with cost-cutting are put into place, another notable strategy to combat the deficit will be implemented as well.

The Board of Trustees approved directing $4 million of investment proceeds from DePaul’s endowment towards eliminating any remaining deficit. 

“Considering the budgetary constraints, I commend SRAC for finding a way forward – despite the operating deficit – to deliver raises to our faculty and staff,” Manuel wrote. 

Since the salary freeze in 2020, the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Chicago area has risen by more than 6 percentage points, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

At a faculty council meeting in October, members of council expressed their frustration in not receiving a wage increase for such a long period. Faculty council vice president Quinetta Shelby asserted the critical importance of these raises, voicing that many DePaul professors are already underpaid and receiving 85% of wages as their peers at other universities.

At the same meeting, several members of faculty council argued that leadership should demand to the Board of Trustees a much larger percent increase with these raises. One member in attendance even suggested faculty should ask for a 10.7% increase to reflect heightened inflation and cost of living in the area since the pandemic.

In Thursday’s email, Manuel urged DePaul employees to show SRAC appreciation for their work in helping DePaul navigate its current financial state. 

“I encourage [faculty and staff] to applaud and thank the members of SRAC for simultaneously protecting our people and stabilizing DePaul’s financial health,” Manuel said.