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UPEI Board of Governors discloses salary grid for employees earning over $100,000 per year

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The following two messages were distributed to faculty and staff by email on August 9, 2022, on behalf of the Office of the UPEI Board of Governors and the Office of the President respectively.
 

Message from the UPEI Board of Governors 

Dear Faculty and Staff,
 
UPEI has long recognized the importance of both privacy and access to information, routinely making large amounts of institutional and other information available to the public on the UPEI website. The Board of Governors is committed to continuing this practice and, where possible, proactively expanding the types of information made available.
 
While there is no legislation or legal requirement on PEI to disclose the salaries of UPEI employees, many universities across the country are required to publish compensation information. In the interest of transparency and accountability, the Board of Governors decided at a recent meeting that it would disclose the salary grid for employees who earn over $100,000 per annum, which is in line with public disclosure requirements in some other jurisdictions. In compliance with privacy laws in PEI, this grid does not include personally identifiable information.
 
President Keefe has waived his rights under the privacy laws and agrees with the Board’s decision to disclose his salary information. After the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors conducted a benchmarking analysis, the Board offered the interim president the mean salary of eight comparator universities in the region at $366,500 per year.
 
In terms of salary disclosure overall beyond the President, there are 867 employment positions at the University, with 597 below the $100,000 threshold. Without disclosing identifiable individual information, the Comptroller’s Office has prepared a summary of compensation at UPEI for the remaining 270 positions, using a tiered approach, in Table 1 below. With the exception of the President’s salary, tiers are structured with a minimum of 6 people in each group to protect privacy.
 
Regarding faculty members, in addition to negotiated cost of living increases, they gain a step each year within the listed ranks (assistant, associate, and full professor). Individuals must receive a promotion through a robust process to move rank (e.g., from an assistant to associate professor). In addition to the listed scales, individuals in high demand areas of specialization may receive a market differential, and administrators, such as deans, associate deans, and chairs, receive a stipend or administrative allowance. These market differentials, stipends, and allowances have been included in the individual’s compensation calculation reported in their salary tier below.
 
Table 1.
      

 

Salary range 

Description 

Count 

Tier 1 

$100,000 to $149,999 

Includes some full, associate, and assistant professors; Librarians; administrators; and other miscellaneous positions  

178 

Tier 2 

$150,000 to $199,999 

Includes some deans, associate/assistant deans; full and associate professors; and senior administrators  

83 

Tier 3 

$200,000 to $299,999 

Includes the vice-presidents; some deans, associate deans; full professors; and senior administrators  

9 
 
The University has attracted excellent academic and administrative leaders by offering compensation that compares well with other similar universities and public institutions, while also being fiscally responsible and transparent to our stakeholders and community.
 
Sincerely,
 
Pat Sinnott
Chair, UPEI Board of Governors
 
 

Message from the President 

Dear Faculty and Staff, 

I welcome the initiative of the UPEI Board of Governors (BoG) to disclose my salary information. It is a very positive move for the University, and I applaud their foresight in doing so.

Prior to being asked by the Board of Governors to be interim president, I had no administrative aspirations beyond the role I was filling as dean of the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC). Accepting the position was not an easy decision for me to reach. When I received the request, family and colleagues encouraged me to serve the University in the role. After my family, my next thoughts were for my colleagues at the AVC.

AVC has two critical and exciting events on the horizon: renegotiation of the four-province interprovincial funding agreement (IPFA) and the anticipated American and Canadian veterinary medical associations’ accreditation review. Both of these events take extensive planning and are expected in 2024. During contract discussions, I asked that, if the BoG wished for me to continue beyond a few months as interim president, I be allowed to relinquish my role as AVC dean so that a long-term dean could be hired to shepherd the College through IPFA discussions and accreditation. I am grateful that the BoG agreed to my request. As a result, I have recently made my colleagues at AVC aware that I would not be returning to finish my term as dean and the University has been able to initiate the process of hiring a new dean for AVC.

During the period between when a new UPEI president is named and the end of my planned term as dean (June 2024), I will serve the University as an advisor to the president, reverting to my previous salary. The focus of this role will be on the new medical program, the above AVC priorities, and additional areas as determined by the new president. While I have been encouraged by colleagues to do so, it is not my current intention to apply for the position of president and vice-chancellor when the process is initiated.

I want to thank everyone for their continued support. Together with my team and all members of the University community, I will continue to work to advance the University and foster an environment of positivity and collaboration as well as one that is transparent and accountable. 

 

Regards,

Greg

 
 
GREG KEEFE, DVM, MSc, MBA (he/him)
President and Vice-Chancellor (Interim)
 
 

 

Media Contact

Nicole Phillips
Director of Communications and University Relations
Marketing and Communications
nphillips@upei.ca
902-566-0947

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