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Salary Inequities Force Anthropology Professor to Abandon UNC Academia
Editor's note: The Daily Tar Heel received the
following letter from anthropology Assistant
Professor Jane Bachnik on Aug. 23.
Dear Fellow Members of the UNC
Community:
It is with genuine regret thafl have de
cided to resign my position after 12
years on the faculty of the Anthropol
ogy Department at UNC. I sincerely will
miss many of the students and colleagues
with whom I have worked, and want to
make it clear that my decision to leave was
not taken because I dislike teaching, re
search or my other faculty duties.
Rather, it is overwhelmingly based on a
single factor: although productive, I am
seriously underpaid in relation to my peers.
I have chosen to make my resignation
letter public because I believe that serious
salary inequities exist in the faculty of Arts
and Sciences at UNC that must be rectified
if the University is to achieve its potential
excellence. I wish to take this opportunity
to pinpoint certain problems that I think
are most important to rectify and to sug
gest some remedies for resolving them. To
clarify these issues I will present limited
specifics of my own case.
The salary issues which I find most
pressing include the following: (l)alackof
a clear relationship between salary raises
and professional accomplishments in teach
ing and research; (2) a serious lack of ac
countability in department decisions con
cerning merit salary raises; and (3) a lack of
effective means for faculty redress in cases
of salary inequity. I am not the only faculty
member at UNC who feels my salary is far
below where it should be. Some 55 tenured
faculty in Arts and Sciences recently formed
an Ad Hoc Committee Concerned with
Faculty Salary Inequities. Virtually with
out exception the faculty involved are
highly productive, conscientious teachers
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Provides News and Hands-on Experience
The mission of a student newspaper can
be boiled down to two parts. One is to
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to write, edit, take pictures, draw and de
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munity and readers by providing up-to
date information about the world in which
we live.
We here at The Daily Tar Heel are
striving to fulfill the dual mission of a
student newspaper.
Our Readerf riendly Redesign
As most of you probably have noticed,
the DTH looks a little different from last
year. It is the product of a redesign the
brainchild of our former graphics editor,
John Caserta—that has been in the works
all summer.
Our goal was not only to make the paper
look better but to make it easier to follow
for our readers.
For instance, the thin lines separating
each article let readers know where stories
end and which photograph or graphic ele
ment accompanies the article.
We also are including longer cutlines
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The editorial page also was changed to
allow more room for our readers’ favorite
feature the letters to the editor. We also
will be running more editorial cartoons
and illustrations on our editorial pages.
In addition, the redesign allows for more
efficient use of space and uses more visual
elements to illustrate facts and ideas.
We also will be using more color
throughout the paper for photos, graphics
and advertisements. You will see full-color
front pages - - that means color photos
1m
and research
ers, who con
tribute substan
tially to the Uni-
jANE BACHNIK
6UEST COLUMNIST
versity . The spontaneous way in which the
group came together indicates that tal
ented faculty from many departments have
complaints about salary inequities, and
that their complaints are not effectively
being addressed. It is necessary to inquire
more specifically as to what these inequi
ties involve.
The faculty constituting the Ad Hoc
Committee maintain that their salaries are
low, both in comparison to salary levels in
other universities, and in comparison to oth
ers of similar rank within their own depart
ments. Moreover, as stated above, they are
productive teachers and researchers. Here,
the problem of unevenness ofsalaries within
the same ranks in a department cannot
adequately be accounted for by overall low
ness of salary funds or salary “compres
sion.” Other factors are involved, some of
which can be illustrated by example of my
own case. In my department, I am one of
the highest ranked at the associate level,
but also one of the lowest paid. Three new
faculty have been hired during the past
three years, all below my rank, but well
above my salary level —their salaries rep
resent an aggregate of $17,000 over mine.
Consequently, my salary is not commen
surate with my rank. Moreover, I am pres
ently eligible for promotion to full profes
sor rank, yet were I to be promoted, the two
lowest-ranking full professors (who are my
closest cohorts in terms of entry into the
department) have salaries respectively of
$24,000 and $13,000 above mine (includ
ing a chair’s stipend for the first); meaning
that my closest cohorts have salaries one-to two
thirds above my own. Nor is my salary level
accounted for by my productivity, which
can be evaluated by a variety of indexes,
every Monday
or every other
Monday (we
hope) and on
special days
such as the day
after we win
another
NCAA cham
pionship
I’m counting
the days.
Debut of
"Diversions”
YI-HSIN CHANG
EDITOR
Another major change we’ve made is
the creation of “Diversions” to replace our
Omnibus weekend magazine. Due to fi
nancial reasons, we no longer could afford
to produce a weekly arts and entertain
ment magazine separate from the DTH.
But instead of looking at this change as
a setback, we decided to put Omni to rest
and create anew and exciting arts and
entertainment section of the paper that still
would give our readers their weekly fix of
our wacky columnists (a.k.a. Kevin Kruse
and Joe Bob Briggs) as well as up-to-date
movie, concert and band listings and re
views to help readers plan their weekend
diversions.
Like Omni, Diversions will appear in
the DTH every Thursday just in time for
your weekend activities.
No Experience Necessary
That brings me to the second part of our
mission: to be a place of learning for aspir
ing journalists and nonjoumalists.
The DTH is looking for some dedicated
souls to help us accomplish the other part
of our mission of serving the University
community.
We need new writers, copy editors, pho-
EDITORIALS
including student teaching evaluations
(mine are very strong, and I have been
commended for them by my chair); profes
sional awards (I am the only department
member to receive the UNC Hettleman
Prize in 1991-92, and the international
Yonina Talmon Prize in 1982); peer-re
viewed publications (which include an
edited book listed in the fall catalogue for
Princeton Press, among numerous others);
grants and fellowships (which include
Fulbright, Japan Foundation, Pogue and
Institute for Arts and Humanities Grants
in the past five years). My productivity in
terms of all these indexes must be acknowl
edged as in the top echelon of the depart
ment. But my salary is one of the several
overall lowest in the department. The ques
tion raised by these discrepancies is ho w to
account for them.
These same inequities within the de
partment were further exacerbated by the
fact that this department made four outside
hirings of seniors (tenured) personnel during
these same three years when salary inequi
ties inside the department were worsening,
and the University was supposedly under
severe budgetary constraints. Such hirings
point to a major issue raised by the Ad Hoc
Faculty Committee, namely, the rationale
for continuing to make expensive outside
hirings when salary inequities for produc
tive faculty within the University remain
unaddressed.
Whatever the merits of my particular
case, and while I cannot speak here for
faculty in other departments, both my own
experience, and the fact that I am leaving
the University, allow me to be frank in
identifying a set of problems I believe are
crucial in order to rectify the present salary
inequities in Arts and Sciences at UNC.
(1) No set of salary levels exists as a
“floor” for any rank in the University.
There is in effect, no “bottom" beneath
tographers, graphics gurus, layout artists
and editorial cartoonists and illustrators.
Applications, available at the Union
desk and at the DTH office (Union Suite
104), are due Friday.
We will be holding interest meetings at
7 p.m. today and Tuesday in Union 205-
206. Stop by for more information.
We welcome students of all backgrounds
and recognize that diverse students will
bring diverse viewpoints to reflect the
changing demographics of our commu
nity.
No experience is necessary. Seriously.
We are here to teach, and we’re willing to
help anyone who’s interested and dedi
cated.
When I started writing for the DTH two
years ago, I had no intention of going into
journalism. I soon was bitten by the jour
nalism bug, and now I can’t imagine doing
anything else (much to my parents’ dis
may).
I encourage nonjoumalism majors to
apply. Who knows, you might find your
calling. Or at least improve your writing.
Open-Door Policy
During my term as editor, I welcome
readers’ ideas, comments and criticism.
Write letters to the editor. The Readers’
Forum is exactly that, so be a part of it.
Also please feel free to call (962-0245) or
come by on afternoons or evenings if you
have any concerns or questions. My door
is always open even if I may seem a little
frazzled. I want to be accessible and in
touch with our readers so as to know how
to better serve them.
So come on by. I’ll be living at the DTH
until next May.
Yi-Hsin Chang is a junior English major from
Raleigh.
Student Living in Argentina Learns More About Rest of New World
Hola de Buenos Aires! I came July 11
to study with the Argentines for their
spring semester. The UNC-Univer
sity of Illinois program here includes stu
dents from all over the United States. I had
never met anyone from Alaska! The two
other Tar Heels are juniors John Fichthom
from Greenwich, Conn., and Amy Lee
from Atlanta.
Classes at the University of Belgrano
and the University of Buenos Aires began
weeks ago, and now midterms loom. How
ever, like UNC, I have found that my most
cogent lessons occur notinclass,but around
town in places like airports, buses and
streets. The portenos, orresidents ofßuenos
Aires, have acted as ready and supportive
teachers.
First, I left family and friends in hot
Atlanta and flew to Miami. I have not
shown my summeT tan since. Upon my
arrival eight hours later in Santiago, Chile,
I stepped out of the LanChile aircraft and
into dark, literally freezing conditions. The
complete change of seasons has been one
of the hardest adaptations for my body to
make. Now, the weather is chilly, but clear
and expectant of spring.
The flight continued later to the east,
across the Andes to Buenos Aires and
nearly Montevideo, Uruguay.
Piers Paul Read’s true story “Alive”
describes the plane crash and bitter sur
vival of a team of rugby players from Uru
guay as they flew to Chile. I gazed incredu
lously as young men wearing Club Na
tional Uruguay sweatsuits filled the sur
rounding seats on my flight. I smiled at
them more readily once we crossed into
the flat pampa of Argentina.
Now, I feel quite at home in the capital
city of the world’s eighth largest country,
or about one-third the size of the United
which one’s salary cannot fall, and nothing
stipulating that a productive person ofhigher
rank and longer service should be paid
more than someone of lesser rank and
shorter service. The kind of system created
by a lack of salary “floors” creates a major
hazard: namely, no salary standards exist to
ensure equal treatment for equal contributions.
(2) The net result of this lack of stan
dards means that tremendous power rests
in the hands of departments in determining
salary levels power that is particularly
concentrated in the office of the chair. The
chair’s power is rendered virtually abso
lute by the fact that in addition to the lack
of salary standards transcending a particu
lar unit, no redress exists for salary deci
sions within the University that does not rely
on the same power structure of the depart
ments and chairs. It is crucial to realize that
the Dean/Chair relationship does not al
low the Dean to operate with an indepen
dent voice.
As previously mentioned, my purpose
in writing this letter is not to air my griev
ances, but to try to pose an issue I have
found impossible to raise from within the
University. The inequities are enormously
hurtful to the University since, in effect,
they create a privileged group of powerful
“haves” at the expense of “have-nots” who
perform conscientious teaching, research
and University tasks. Since I see little real
hope for redress in achieving a salary that
is commensurate with my rank or profes
sional accomplishments I am now leaving
the University to enter the non-academic
job market.
In conclusion, I believe that rectifying
the serious pay inequities at UNC must be
accomplished in order for the University to
come anywhere close to its potential excel
lence. I hope that the courage will be found
to move forward instead of treading the
same ground, and I extend my very best
Government’s Work Pays Off for Students
As the summer months slipped by, the
few zealots left manning student gov
ernment spent their time daydream
ing about future programs, potential
projects and the historic moment when the
groovy 70s decor would be stripped from
their offices. Mercifully, the fall brought
both a fresh coat of paint to retire the
muddy brown wallpaper and a record num
ber of students (quickly approaching 400)
to invent and implement new student ini
tiatives.
In the year of the University’s great
Bicentennial birthday bash, the need to
harness this student potential could not be
more critical. Countless fingering prob
lems continue to disrupt the campus com
munity racial strife and
misunderstanding, sexual assaults, budget
cuts, slipping faculty salaries and even an
occasional loss to certain Blue Devils.
In an effort to prepare for the coming
year, the executive branch cabinet disap
peared to Camp Chestnut Ridge for 24 fun
filled hours, complete with orientation in
formation, concrete planning and late-night
laughter. We began our planning process
by reflecting on the essential issues and
activity of the past summer months:
■ Environmental Concerns. The execu
tive branch worked with the Student Envi
ronmental Action Coalition and the TAr
Heel Recycling Program to pursue several
environmental initiatives this summer, in
cluding urging the University to commit to
the use of recycled paper, implement cost
saving energy efficiency measures, improve
Carolina Dining Services’ waste manage
ment and help facilitate the success of this
fall’s UNC Green Games. Particularly suc
cessful was the recycled paper effort: Vice
Chancellor ofßusiness and Finance Wayne
Jones committed up to SIOO,OOO to en
courage almost complete departmental
conversion to recycled paper.
■ Black Cultural Center. Through rep
resentation on University advisory com
mittees, our office advocated the endorse-
States. Buenos
Aires itself is
immense and
home to 11 mil
lion Argen-
LAURA RICHARDS
VOICES FROM
ABROAD
tines, or one-third of the country’s popula
tion.
The country is a stable one, and Presi
dent Carlos Menem has privatized many
state corporations and kept the peso even
with the dollar. When I walk and explore
Buenos Aires, I feel safer than I do in
Chapel Hill.
Still, life is full of waiting and hassles. I
have learned to ignore the trash and hurdle
holes in the wrecked sidewalks. The pollu
tion hurts my lungs and my spirit. The
United States influences much of Argen
tine popular culture. Coke, Madonna and
Bill Clinton reach further than I had
thought.
Transportation to the various barrios is
key and requires time and inside knowl
edge. Simply crossing a cobblestone calle,
or street, reminds one of the fragility oflife.
A friend has seen two people hit and killed
in the last four months. Portenos claim
Brazilians are much worse.
Collectives, or buses, are übiquitous,
cheap and widely used. I have yet to decide
if the all-important drivers are gods or
devils. They stop only when and for whom
they want, and rarely at a stop sign, be
cause all vehicles yield to their size. Every
one drives at breakneck pace. My sense of
balance feels tuned and primed. An empty
seat begins a game of musical chairs in
which I now excel.
The portenos are the gems of the maze.
Those I have met are kind, expressive and
elegantly dressed. Former European im
migrants, especially Italians, have given
handsome Mediterranean appearances and
wishes to all those at UNC who are ear
nestly trying to create a better and more
j ‘A-
ment of a free
standing Sonja
Haynes Stone
Black Cultural
Center on the
student-pre
ferred Wilson-
Deysite.Asthe
process
dragged on, the
Facilities Plan
ning Com
mittee deter
mined that, in
PM COPLAND
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT
fact, the science department needs could
be feasibly met without the Wilson-Dey
site, and Buildings and Grounds
Committee forwarded a recommendation
that offered Wilson-Dey as the most ac
ceptable site for the new center.
At numerous individual meetings and
in a closed session of the Board ofTrustees,
we continued to pursue this goal. The BOT
gave a resounding statement in support of
the proposed BCC by approving it 9-2.
Unfortunately, the Board also selected
Coker Woods as the site for the BCC with
a 6-3 vote. We remain hopeful that this site
decision does not overshadow the landmark
victory for students and student
empowerment that the approval of the
center itself represents. Moreover, we are
urging the University to continue to take
the necessary steps to ensure that this dream
is translated into bricks and mortar.
■ Educational Cost. Student govern
ment has long advocated a high quality,
low cost education. This summer, these
goals came into conflict as theN.C. Senate
included in its budget bill a proposal to
raise tuition atN.C. State and UNC-CHby
S2OO —a 29-percent increase for in-state
students —to make additional funds avail
able for faculty salaries, libraries and finan
cial aid. Because of the formidable finan
cial burden such an increase would place
on students and the troubling precedent it
would set, we opposed the S2OO tuition
soft, song-like inflections to their Spanish,
which they Castellano.
I love living here for many reasons.
Argentina’s flag is Carolina blue and white
with a large sun in the middle. The literacy
rate is a high 94 percent, and the country
boasts some of the best polo in the world.
Like the United States, they gained their
independence by overthrowing a Euro
pean power.
The clubs, open from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m.,
pulse with crowds and excitement. Soccer
is king. The national team prepares daily
for the 1994 World Cup in the United
States.
Argentina constantly hands me sur
prises. For example, I chuckle at the mal
functions of systems on which I usually
depend, like the mail, telephone, water
and police. I can do nothing else. In com
parison, my life in the United States seems
more efficient and clear, but certainly not
rich in meaning or more fun.
Before coming, I grouped together the
land and people south of the United States.
The citizens of the various Latin American
countries despise being thrown into the
same big sombrero. Similarities do exist,
but the extremes of geography, culture and
history are vast.
For instance, Argentina is a long, nar
row country that stretches through many
ranges of latitudes. It boasts tropical for
ests, glaciers, rich soil in its pampa, incred
ible beef, a windy Patagonia and some of
the best skiing on the continent.
Every day here amazes me because I
feel like I have arrived in a completely
different world. Granted, I could have pre
pared myself better for what I now see.
However, I wish more Americans knew
about the rest of the New World. 1 wish my
lower and high school teachers had re
Monday, August 30,1993
equitable climate for teaching and learn
ing.
hike but advo
cated addi
tional budget
allocations to
help boost the
libraries and
faculty salaries.
State Relations
Coordinator
Rebe c a h
Moore dili
gently toiled in
Raleigh,
working with
UNC Vice
DACIA TOLL
STUDENT BODY
VICE PRESIDENT
President for Public Affairs D.G. Martin
to win a defeat of the surcharge.
The General Assembly approved its
budget without the S2OO tuition surcharge.
We also received more than $l.B million
for faculty salary increases, and more than
$900,000 for library acquisitions
amounts comparable to those that would
have been generated by the S2OO surcharge.
Along similar lines, the administration
proposed sllß in student fee increases,
only $7.80 of which the students had ap
proved by campus wide referendum.
Though the board approved the fees in full,
we continued to advocate fewer student
fees by identifying six objectives—target
ing fees which we opposed in whole or in
part —and conveying those objectives to
friends on the Board of Governors, urging
them to pursue our concerns with the Gen
eral Administration.
These issues highlight only a small seg
ment of the summer schedule and even a
smaller portion of the ambitious agenda to
explore and expand in the coming year.
Along these lines, we are having an
executive branch general interest meeting
this Thursday evening at 7:00. Keep an eye
out in the DTH and around campus for the
place. Finally, feel free to call us at the
office (962-4636 and 962-5201) or at home
(Jim, 967-6701; Dacia, 968-3013) with any
comments or questions.
ferred to South American artists, writers
and statespeople as often as they did Euro
peans. I read that more Americans visit
Italy every year than South America. Next
time, try a flight south. I doubt you will be
sorry. Ciao gente!
Laura Richards is an international studies and
political science major from Carrollton, Ga., and
is studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the
semester.
Column policy
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes guest
column submissions from our readers.
Interested guest columnists should contact
Dana Pope, editorial page editor, at 962-
0245.
Guest columns can cover any topic of
the author's choosing, but columns about
current issues have a greater chance of
publication.
Please follow the following guidelines
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I Limit columns to 800 words.
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vulgarity.
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