[The following resolution was approved by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee on October 20, 1975.]
A Joint Statement from the Executive Bodies of the Faculty Senates
of the University of Tennessee
In recent years the faculties of the campuses of the University of Tennessee have not received adequate remuneration for their services. Real earnings have fallen steadily, an indication that appropriations for salaries are not in tune with the inflation with which we must all struggle. Salary adjustments for the present academic year are particularly unreasonable, in view of the sharp rise in the cost of living.
Inadequate funding for the operation of the University system is similarly a recurring problem, and is presently at the level where the functioning of departments is truly seriously impaired. The following points should be taken into consideration:
1. There has been a steady and precipitous decrease in the purchasing power of the faculty.
2. There has been an actual dollar decrease in many departmental operating budgets.
3. There have been student enrollment increases ranging up to 16% at the various systems campuses.
4. There is an anticipated 12% increase in operational costs due to inflation.
The above points should lead everyone to believe that the University of Tennessee is being funded very inadequately.
The Faculty Senates of the University of Tennessee, represented by those whose signatures are affixed to this statement, most strongly urge the legislators of the State of Tennessee to provide their University system with the level of financial support necessary for it to perform the task expected of it. Continued substandard appropriations must surely result in the fall of the units of the University into mediocrity, the loss of the best of its academic personnel to other institutions, and the movement of the remainder toward collective negotiations. Most imperative is the need for a policy for maintaining the purchasing power of the faculty.
You should be advised that the faculties of the campuses of the University system are ready and willing to serve you in your efforts to solve this highly complex problem.
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