Despite expected salary freezes, Bowdoin's faculty and staff have not experienced the layoffs and hiring hiatuses that some institutions have resorted to as a result of the economic downturn.
In his January 22 message to the College about its finances, President Barry Mills said that faculty salaries will remain fixed for the next two years in order to balance the College's budget while avoiding layoffs.
He added, however, that pay increases would still be given to promoted faculty.
"As President Mills said, promotions would be recognized with an increase and that is the policy we will follow in setting salaries for next year," wrote Dean for Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd in an e-mail to the Orient. "Normally eight to 12 people are reviewed for promotion in a given year."
Judd explained that promotions are changes in rank, for instance, "from lecturer to senior lecturer, assistant professor to associate professor (the point at which tenure is awarded), or associate professor to full professor."
As Mills outlined, the College will also continue to hire faculty to fill existing tenure-track positions. According to Judd, six of the seven tenure-track searches authorized for this year have been completed and the last is still in progress. The College has also filled new tenure-track positions created through the Capital Campaign.
Judd said the College will fill vacancies created by retirements where necessary, as well.
"As President Mills said, we will continue to monitor changes in the economy and adjust if we need to do so, but we believe that we have developed a prudent plan," wrote Judd.
Director of Human Resources Tama Spoerri said she has not had to lay off any non-faculty staff. Additionally, Bowdoin has experienced one of the lowest vacancy rates on record in 2009. Some staff members have quit or resigned, but not at a lower rate than in past years.
"From a hiring perspective, one of the things that is certainly obvious with this economy is that people aren't leaving their positions," Spoerri said. "People want to hang on to their jobs."
Spoerri said that in tough economic times people keep jobs with which they are familiar and experienced.
"Our employees are some of the best, and what it is says is that we can keep some of our most talented people and it's not a super competitive environment," she said.
Of the staff members who have left, Spoerri said most left positions in services like security, dining, and housekeeping.
"We absolutely need to fill those positions," she said. "We have an obligation to students."
As for other vacancies that may arise, Spoerri said that Human Resources would judge if they could reorganize positions, but would not rule out hiring new staff.
As for the 2009-2010 academic year, Spoerri said, "I would anticipate that we will continue as we are going right now. It's hard to predict what will happen, but short of their being some catastrophic economic development, we will continue the way we're working. We've been working hard to curb discretionary spending across campus so that we can avoid layoffs."
Mills also recommended a salary freeze for non-faculty staff members earning more than $40,000 per year in the message. For those earning under this amount, "the budget assumes a two percent increase for the next two years that will be paid either as a salary increase or as a one-time payment in each of the next two years." Spoerri said that Human Resources has followed this policy.
"The overwhelming response that I have observed has been one that recognizes the importance of the College community, supports the desire to avoid layoffs among staff, and wants to focus on maintaining the quality and integrity of our academic program," said Judd.