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March 7, 2014 NEWS ever-^;rowing financial sinkhole stress of deferred maintenance DEMONSTRATION Students seek equality for faculty salaries Continued from page I inspired and moved by their ethos, their desire to fight for our core values in a way that should teach us all, but especially the administration, something about the true spirit of Guilford College. That day I remembered — if I ever needed reminding — why I love this place so much." At its peak, the group was about 20 students, but it dwindled toward the end of the meeting. "I think our biggest difficulty was that the meeting was so long, so some of our original protestors had to leave," said junior Charlotte Lippincott. During a break in the meeting, some trustees came outside to speak with students and expressed appreciation for students' exercise of their voice. A few senior administrators reiterated that there is not enough money to pay employees more. Kent Chabotar, president of Guilford and professor of political science, spoke with demonstrators after the meeting and said, "We agree to disagree." Raeder thought this rationale to be insufficient. "When we agree to disagree, you're disagreeing and you're influencing the decisions," said Raeder. Fetrow discussed "ugly trade-offs" when asked .about the unequal pay and a 3 percent rise in tuition. "Do we spend the money on life safety issues in Bryan (Hall)... or do we do raises for low-paid staff?" said Fetrow. Has the idea of cutting administrative salaries been part of the ongoing budget conversations? According to Fetrow, the answer is no. Different reasons have been given to justify why Guilford pays faculty less than its peer institutions, like the College's having a smaller endowment or more faculty to pay. Others suggest that the College offers better faculty benefits or that the faculty have a lighter workload than at peer colleges. These reasons were proven false, however, in the faculty report published in August 2013. Accorchng to the report, Guilford's endowment is larger than eight percent of its peer institutions, and there is no strong correlation between the number of full-time faculty and average salaries. Guilford faculty benefits are also average and the teaching load is typical compared to fellow institutions. "I am mad and demoralized," said Hiroko Hirakawa, associate professor of foreign languages. "I feel helpless and don't know what to do, but I also know something has to be done." Raeder, among others, brought up the neglect of Guilford's core values. "The issue at hand is our core values have come to mean nothing," said Raeder. "If we aren't equitably paying the people who work here, then that isn't living up to equality. If we have hugely disproportionate people of non-color compared to people of color being hired and retained at this school, then that's not diversity." DELAYING THE REPAIR OF BUILDINGS AIDS SHORT TERM, HURTS LONG TERM BY VICTOR LOPEZ Senior Writer Amid the dire budget crisis Guilford College faces, one essential part of the College's survival depends on how it handles its massive deferred maintenance. When something structural or mechanical needs to be replaced and is not, it is listed under deferred maintenance. When putting off car repair year after year, one's car will eventually endure considerable wear and tear. The College is no different. As buildings on campus age, they need more repairs. Deferred maintenance ranges from replacing light bulbs to fixing sewage pipes, air conditioning units, roofs and everything in between. Vice President for Administration Jonathan Varnell works nearly 60 hours a week trying to keep up with the many projects on campus in order to address deferred maintenance issues. His department has lost almost $1.2 million in funding over the past four years. According to Varnell, about $16.8 million in maintenance is needed, while the College only has $1.4 million a year to spend. And that's not the only problem. "We have lost manpower, laying off almost 15 positions over the years, and the employees we do have work more "I don't want to soy that those buildings have become a health and safety concern, but they have." Jonathan Varnell, vice president for administration than anyone else out there," Varnell said. Facilities Condition Index is a term most institutions use to^ determine how far behind they are in deferred maintenance. Currently, Guilford's FCI is 9.7 percent. ^ According to Varnell, a FCI higher than 5 percent is bad and nearing 10 percent places an institution in a "poor" category. Guilford invests $1.4 million annually into Facilities, yet the industry standard is $2.1 to $3.4 million. Mary Hobbs, Binford, Dana and Milner Hall have the worst FCI percentages. Some of the buildings are in such bad condition, it is imperative Facilities begins work in them. Making sure there are sprinklers, getting rid of rampant mold, fixing leaking roofs and outdated heating and air conditioning units are among some of the halls' more imminent tasks. 'I don't want to say^ that those said. Junior Cecelia Baltich-Schecter, who has lived in Milner, Bryan and Mary Hobbs, said maintenance has been spotty at best. '^There was a little bit of mold in (Mary) Hobbs, but nothing like it was in Bryan," said Baltich-Schecter. "There was so much mold on everything in my room in Bryan. It was really disgusting." In terms of possible solutions, Varnell said all depends upon increasing enrollment and endowment, which would take pressure off the operating budget and allow the College to make proper investments in its employees and physical infrastructure. Trustee and Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee Pete Cross told The Guilfordian these issues are not Guilford-specific. "Deferred maintenance is a critical subject to Guilford and all colleges because our facilities and infrastructure are so important and because those budget priorities compromise equally important items, such as the desire to raise faculty and staff compensation," Cross said. "My reading suggests that virtually every college and university in America, is lagging behind in deferred niaintenaqce." According to Cross and Varnell, a report will reassess Guilford's FCI in the next few months. "These numbers (FCI percentages) are a moving target and could end up being higher or lower than where we currently stand," Varnell said. BUILDINGS MOST IN NEED OF REPAIR - MARY HOBBS HALL -BINFORD HALL - MILNER HALL
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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