Making the Offer

I’m beginning to make offers for the positions we are fortunate to be able to fill this year, and I’m reminded of just how complicated that process can be. At my small institution, there’s a minimum of bureaucracy and a relatively informal process of approval before we make an offer. Even so, there are several steps to take before I can pick up the phone.

This morning I am going to make two calls. I have been thinking about the various parameters of each offer: how much in salary, moving money, and start-up dollars. Do I offer release time during that first year to help the new professors get started? Can I bump up faculty-development support for a year or two?

With salaries, it’s always been my principle and practice to offer as much as I easily can right from the first. The two most important reasons are that I don’t believe faculty salaries are the best place for an institution to pinch pennies, and I want our new hires to feel appropriately compensated.

Then, of course, the problem becomes avoiding unacceptable salary compression and inversion, which contributes to bad feelings all around. That requires vigilance and creativity with salary budgets. Fortunately we don’t have much of a problem with those issues here, but I have seen serious compression and inversion elsewhere, and it (rightly) annoys the senior professors who are its victims.

Other aspects of the offer negotiations are easier. Faculty members understand that helping new colleagues off to a good start is a central part of the recruitment process. Even there, though, it’s very important to keep in mind that people do talk, and gross inequities with no apparent rationale will inevitably lead to discontent.

Still, it’s an exciting time. Our candidates have terrific accomplishments and wonderful potential. It’s now left to hope that we can entice them to join us.