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Show O Weber State College Summer Thousands were sparked by the passing of the OLYMPIC TORCH through the city of Ogden. See pages 4-5. Vol. 44 No. 61 Thursday, July 5, 1984 u u - ' ; . . , f - , .-w' ." " - - ', ...... k. . . - , 'rri",ft " " 1 . - " - t MT' " v .-,. ' J-' H k . ... , . '''.'"' 'J.I iJU, iljj.' ,!-JJiU i i i ! !!I j j ! - is?:-y' ?-J - " . - ; 1 V - v-:"T-v - - v "t- -- v Construction of the new Allied Health Building is underway. According to Jim Cox, a WSC architect, the heavy amount of rain that Utah has received has put the project slightly behind schedule. Expected to be Signpost photoMatthew Brown finished one year from now in July, 1985, Cox said that ground for the site of the Allied Health Building. Cox he didn't know how much of the lost time could be said that Cannon-Papanikolas has also been responsible made up before the completion date. for the construction of . Weber State's Bell Tower, Cannon-Papanikolas Construction Company is doing Engineering Tech Building, Social Science Building and the contracting. Above, they can be seen preparing the Phase II of the Stewart Library. Weber Faculty Turnover Rate: Industry Salary is Major Lure by Valerie Bingham Contributing Writer "I'm impressed (with Weber State's faculty)," said Dr. Robert B. Smith, vice president of Academic Affairs.This opinion followed an explanation of a problem which exists in faculty turnover at WSC. "We've got a problem (with turnover)," admits Smith, but he qualified, "it's spotty." What Smith means is that some schools at WSC are harder hit than others by faculty turnover. The most obvious problem is in the School of Allied Health Sciences, which turned over 28 faculty members in the period between 1981-1983. Of those faculty, 19 were temporary. Temporary appointments are the number one reason for faculty turnover at WSC. In Allied Health, it is a particular problem. Smith explained that salaries at WSC in Allied Health cannot compete with the high wages paid in hospitals and industry. That makes it difficult to attract and keep full-time faculty. The same salarytemporary position problem existed during the 1981-1983 period in the marketing and accounting departments of the School of Business and Economics. Smith cited competition with other higher paying business schools, lack of a graduate program and individual reasons as the causes here. Steps have been taken to resolve the problem in the School of Business by offering fewer but larger classes. Another area with comparatively high faculty turnover is the School of Technology, which again can't compete with the salaries in the industrial market. Salary increases, or the lack thereof, are not a significant reason for faculty resignations. The legislature did not allow for a faculty salary increase in 1983. Despite that fact, Smith said there were remarkably few resignations. According to him, the faculty adopted the attitude , "Ok, we don't like it, but everybody's in the same boat." The 1983 salary increase void has been offset by a 12 percent increase in faculty salaries in 1984. The legislature allocated 8.3 percent and the administration re-allocated other resources to reach the 12 percent figure. To an extent, the salary issue is also offset by the benefits package which, according to Smith, amounts to an additional 31 percent. Within the last two years, two faculty members have resigned for salary reasons and returned because they preferred the academic lifestyle at Weber State College. While financial reasons are the number one factor in some of the schools at WSC, faculty turnover results as well from retirements , deaths, other job opportunities, failure to be re-appointed, involun tary resignations and denial of tenure. in the period between 1981-1983, there were 92 faculty terminations at WSC. Of those 92, 41 percent were temporary positions, 13 percent terminated at the request of the college (three were hired into administrative positions at WSC), 28 percent were voluntary terminations, 9 percent retired and another 9 percent were due to death. Although a breakdown of reasons is not available at this time for faculty terminations in 1984, the School of Business and Economics (to date) ranks first with a 13 percent turnover rate. It is followed closely by the Schools of Allied Health Sciences and Education, both with 11 percent, and the School of Technology, which has 10 percent. These contrast sharply with the School of Arts and Humanities, which has a turnover rate of less than 1 percent. 1984 Percentage Of Faculty Turnover In Each School (As of 5-21-84) 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 All Hlth Arts & Hum Bus & Econ Educ Nat Sri Soc Sci Tech |