BY ELIZABETH EDNIE
President John Denning C.S.C. responded to the petition created and sent out by Students In Action (SIA) and the American Association for University Professors (AAUP) on March 4 via email, saying that pay equity is vitally important to him and the College’s Senior Leadership team.
The email was sent out to all members of the Stonehill community, where President Denning stated that he understood the sacrifice made by faculty and staff after the additional 5 percent retirement match in 2020 was not offered.
“In addition to creating a testing center on campus, the College also faced increased costs due to the pandemic and lower overall student enrollment,” he said.
Denning said that despite the hardships the pandemic brought to the community, the College was still able to provide a cost-of-living increase of 1.3 percent to faculty and staff, and reinstated 1 percent of the retirement match in this year’s budget.
He said there are many factors that will influence the budget for 2023.
“The sacrifices of these past two years remain at the forefront of my mind as we all struggle with rising costs and inflation,” he said.
According to the email, Jeanne Finlayson, Vice President for Finance, will provide a community webinar on the financial state of the College and will share more information on how senior leadership develops a budget.
“I have also requested that colleagues in the Office of Human Resources provide recommendations to me on building more transparency into our employment practices, especially as it relates to salary, hiring, promotions and departures,” Denning said.
Denning said he is grateful for all members of the Stonehill community, and that he remains committed to ensuring the College thrives for generations to come.