Proposed Salary Increase for Employees

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Dear Colleagues-Friends,

As you heard from President Boyd's email on Tuesday, it has been a busy week in Nashville with Governor Lee's State of the State address on Monday night, and yesterday's UT Day on the Hill. Combine that with a visit to our Memphis campus on Tuesday from UT System President Randy Boyd, who met with our new Chancellor's Cabinet, former Executive Leadership Institute participants, the Student Government Association Executive Council, and toured the soon-to-open Delta Dental of Tennessee Building. By the way, President Boyd was highly complimentary of all the ongoing activities at UTHSC.

During Tuesday's Cabinet meeting and in our recent UTHSC Advisory Board meeting, we reviewed and discussed feedback from our staff engagement survey and the faculty COACHE survey. We acknowledged our employees emphasis on additional compensation, recognizing that compensation is consistently found at the bottom of satisfaction surveys among higher education employees. We reflected with gratitude on how last year the Governor's budget included a 4% salary pool increase for state employees. This year, as noted by President Boyd, we are also encouraged by the Governor's proposal for a 5% salary pool increase for state employees – an unprecedented increase! Additionally, the Governor is proposing investments in employee health insurance and 401k contributions. Although this proposed budget will be debated by Tennessee's legislators and may have some differences as it shapes into its final form as the State's budget over the coming months, we wanted to make you aware at this juncture of this potential for additional compensation and proposed benefits.

We are very appreciative for Governor Lee's support, as well as the continued support of the Tennessee General Assembly. We are also indebted to our awesome UT System President, Randy Boyd, for his dedication and hard work toward making this the greatest decade in the history of the University of Tennessee. Thank you, President Boyd, for being our tireless warrior.

During yesterday's UT Day on the Hill, we met with legislators to thank them for their support – as we also advocated for our campus priorities. During these visits, legislators constantly reminded us of the great impact and value UTHSC brings to communities across the State of Tennessee and our legislators also expressed pride in our accomplishments.

Please also know that we will continue to advocate for UTHSC priorities over the coming weeks and until the budget is finalized. Thank you to David Mills and Carey Whitworth on our Government Relations and Advocacy team for all the work you do! To receive updates on legislative information impacting the University of Tennessee, including the progress of the Governor's proposed budget, please consider joining the UT Advocacy Network at https://advocacy.tennessee.edu/.

Thanks for all you do and for how well you represent UTHSC in your communities. Our mission is noble and appreciated.

With pride and gratitude,

Peter Buckley, MD
Chancellor