During the fall semester, the faculty senate, along with Chancellor Donald Beggs and Provost John Jackson and others held its annual all faculty meeting. At the conclusion of that meeting, I asked Beggs (publicly) how he could justify administrator’s receiving percentage salary increases that were higher than the faculty’s. Chancellor Beggs said he was not aware of administrative salary increases being higher than the nearly 3 percent allotted to faculty but that faculty salaries were indeed low and the administration would have to look into that problem and do something about it.

Recently, a local television station aired a program in which Margaret Winters also acknowledged SIUC faculty salaries were low. Despite the administrations’ public affirmations that faculty salaries are too low (and that their respective increases averaged well over 3 percent over the past five years), these same administrators now have the audacity to propose the faculty receive the same meager 3 percent increase again based solely on merit. (Merit pay is, of course, determined by administrators.) Why do they say one thing yet do another? If you’re going to talk the talk, walk the walk!