MSU Regents pass budget, extend Jackson’s contract

“As we go forward, we are recommending a 2.9% increase in our undergraduate graduate tuition rates,” Dudley said. “How we get to that point is, the CPE for this year and next year has set a 5% tuition cap, so we can only go up 5% for two years, and we can go up no more than 3% in one year, we can't take the whole 5% in one year and then zero the next year.”

Dudley also said $1.8 million would go toward scholarships.

Presenting a chart showing full-time equivalent (FTE) employments, Dudley said there were a lot of retirements this year, but not more than there had been in the last few years. Staff Regent Jessica Evans said she was glad to see the salary increases, but she did have concerns about how Murray State is balancing retirements with new hires.

 “If these positions aren't getting filled, it raises questions to me how we’re able to sustainably manage the services that we need to offer with a shrinking employee base,” Evans said.

“To Regent Evans’ question, there is a net increase of FTEs of 3.6 in this budget,” Jackson said. “That's reality. Now, they may be allocated differently, but that’s a net increase of 3.6, so even though there’s retirements, even though there’s resignations, obviously, most of all (vacancies) are filled. In this case in this budget, there's a net increase of 3.6.”

“When you build these budgets, it's very difficult to hit that moving target because so many things happen within the year that can change that,” said outgoing Board Chair Don Tharpe. “But we rely strongly on our staff to manage these budgets because each one of them has so much budget (to work with). … If I’m a dean and I have 50 people under my control and one person leaves, I might not fill that spot because I want to see if (my operation is the right size). So, I might go six months and not fill the position, or I could go a year and not fill that position because I want to make sure that I need that position; I could use the dollars (for another purpose). I think that’s where these (FTE) numbers go up and down as it relates to staffing.

“(For example) I was beating the president up about three years ago, saying, ‘You need to fill this spot. You need some help.’ Well, he didn't fill a spot, but somebody else in another department did get to fill a spot. So, I'm not so sure that we can take a FTE and it will tell the full story about what we’re doing, if that makes any sense.”

Evans later reiterated a point she has made before about how the administration refers to salary increases when discussing the budget.

“I do want to stress again (that we should) stop calling this a cost-of-living increase because it’s not a true COLA,” Evans said. “COLAs are actually based on national indexes, and we're not doing that. It would make more sense to call it a salary adjustment if that's what we're doing; we’re adjusting employee salaries according to what we can give them in our budget, and I know that's appreciated because it’s the biggest one we've had in 20 years, and that’s amazing. I would really like to see us not go another 20 years without having some sort of significant adjustment. … We have a fair number of employees who are in that $25,000-$27,000 range (for annual salary). That’s not a lot; they’re only seeing about a 65-cent an hour increase in pay.”

Jackson said that although he can’t speak for any president before he started his job in 2018, his administration has done everything it can to invest in faculty and staff, and he is proud that the university has paid for increases in health insurance premiums for several years in a row to keep employees from having to contribute more to keep those benefits.

After submitting a positive evaluation for Jackson, the board unanimously voted to extend his contract for one more year, expiring June 30, 2027. Executive Director of Marketing and Communication Branding Shawn Touney said Jackson will receive the same “3% + $500” salary increase as other employees in the 2023-24 budget, adding that his 2022-23 salary was $338,613.

“I am very grateful to our Board of Regents, administration, faculty, staff and students for a positive and productive quarterly Board of Regents meeting,” Jackson said in a statement released by the university. “In addition, I appreciate the support and confidence of the Board of Regents along with our administration, and the extension of my contract in affirming the positive direction of the university. Many significant items were presented over the course of the meeting as we all continue to work together in advancing Murray State University. Through the hard work, initiative and collaboration among many individuals, our future is very bright as we maintain our focus on the success of our students.”

In other business: 

• Before the board’s lunch break, members dedicated the Dr. Don I. Tharpe Lecture Hall in the School of Engineering. Tharpe – who was appointed to the board in 2017 by former Gov. Matt Bevin – served as chair for the last year, and Friday was his last meeting as a member.

• At the conclusion of the meeting, the board honored Tharpe for his service to the board with a resolution of appreciation. The board then unanimously voted to elect Vice Chair Leon Owens to serve as chair and Virginia Gray to serve as vice chair.

• Staff reported that spring 2023 enrollment increased from the previous spring, while fall 2021 to fall 2022 retention showed an increase from the previous fall one-year period.

• The board unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Brian Parr as dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture. Parr has served as the interim dean since former dean Dr. Tony Brannon retired at the end of 2022.

• The board voted to demolish a building at 503 North 16th St. Director of Facilities Management Jason Youngblood said it is currently used to store costumes for the theater department, and it is one of several locations that can be used to replace parking spaces that will be lost when the new School of Nursing & Health Professions is constructed.

• The board voted to authorize Jackson to negotiate the purchase of two tracts of land totaling 31 acres at the corner of Poor Farm and Hale roads. Jackson said $240,000 in private funds will be used to purchase the land for use by the Hutson School of Agriculture, adding that the price is less that the appraised value.

• The board met in executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss proposed or pending litigation. No action was taken when the board reconvened in open session and voted to adjourn.