Southern Arizonaβs largest employer will soon award pay raises for the first time in three years.
The University of Arizona plans to provide a βmodestβ wage increase to all benefits-eligible employees meeting performance expectations.
Some β for example, those deemed underpaid in their fields β may also receive additional raises on top of the base increase.
Details are still being worked out, but the UA says theyβll be finalized in time for the raises to appear on employeesβ Sept. 12 paychecks.
All categories of employees are eligible, from the lowest earners to the senior executives who work for UA President Ann Weaver Hart. Hart is ineligible, since her pay is controlled separately by the Arizona Board of Regents.
βWe must attract and retain world-class employees and graduate students and show them that their work is valued,β Hart said in a news release announcing the changes.
UA spokesman Chris Sigurdson said this yearβs raises are the first of several to come.
βThe intention is that this be a multi-year program, so people can expect future reallocations and future raises,β he said.
UA employees arenβt the only ones likely to benefit, Sigurdson said. Area businesses could also see an uptick.
βAs Tucsonβs largest employer, faculty and staff raises also increase the universityβs area economic impact,β he said in an email.
Provost Andrew Comrie said in the news release that UA faculty salaries βare now about 15 percent below the national median.β