By Becca Robb | Echo
The average full-time faculty member is 53 years old, according to Taylor's 2016 contract data.
In order to attract younger faculty, Taylor may need to increase its salaries and decrease its benefits. During the past few years, universities similar to Taylor have diminished their benefits, according to Marla Persinger, benefits coordinator. Taylor's benefits are relatively high, but the tradeoff for high benefits is low salaries.
"We have an amazing quality of faculty for the salary," said Steve Dayton, institutional research analyst for Taylor.
Full-time Taylor faculty are in the 31st percentile for salary and the 88th percentile for benefits, compared to 24 participating institutions in a May 2015 study from the American Association of University Professors.
Though Taylor set a goal in 2013 to increase faculty salaries and decrease benefits, they do not have a set timeline for this goal.
"We've tried to really hang onto our benefits, because that's an important part of working here at Taylor," Persinger said. "Maybe we don't get paid as much (as) the other institutions around our area, so we really try to hold onto the benefit part for our employees."
Taylor offers full-time employees a range of benefits, including health insurance, tuition remission for dependents, long-term disability insurance and life insurance. Perhaps the most prominent of these is Taylor's retirement plan. Taylor contributes the equivalent of 12 percent of employee's regular salary toward retirement.
Political science and international relations professor Nicholas Kerton-Johnson said that Taylor has a generous pension and gives more to long-term employees than many employers. According to him, many faculty aren't attracted to Taylor for the salary or even for the benefits.
"Faculty are here because they are called here," Kerton-Johnson said. "We are not pursuing careers at state universities where professors can earn two or three times what they could here, but there's almost a pastoral calling attached to the scholarly side."
Persinger said that one reason that salary is set at its current level is because of the low cost of living near Taylor. While rural Indiana generally may be less expensive, the cost of living in Upland may be more expensive due to high property prices and utility costs, according to Kerton-Johnson.
One way that Taylor shows faculty appreciation is by holding an annual Christmas banquet for employees. Once employees have been with Taylor for 20 years, they are invited to a luncheon in May. Many other institutions have dropped these recognitions due to budget cuts, according to Persinger.
"Once you get here, you kind of stay," Persinger said. "We have a longevity with our employees"
