>As Oralia and others noted, it seems administrators get "special
>compensation" here at UTC.  For me, a mere professor conducting
>administrative tasks related to an externally funded grant this
>summer, I received no "special compensation".  Rather, I ran into a
>situation where it appears faculty sometimes are subjected to
>"unique expenses" incurred trying to meet the objectives of their
>grants.  Let's call it a "Tax on Productive Faculty".  My colleague
>and I were setting up a workshop for local teachers (grades 3-12).
>One of the activities was a field trip to the Tennessee River Gorge.
>Since we had 25 teachers our departmental van would not suffice.
>Approximately six weeks prior to the workshop we went through all
>the normal channels trying to rent a university van, but were told
>that there were none to rent.  We were granted "permission" to go to
>a local car rental company to rent a van.  To make a long story
>short, at the absolute last minute we had to scramble to have any
>mode of transportation at all, and ended up having to rent a mini
>van plus a sedan.  This was hastily charged to my own credit card.
>Well, everything went well with regard to the workshop.  We received
>glowing assessments by workshop attendees.  However, when requesting
>reimbursement for the rental fees, I was told the university would
>not cover the cost of the rental company's insurance policy.  Thus,
>even though the two PI's of the grant agreed that it was a
>reasonable expense for the grant (to insure that in no way that
>rental car company could hold me, or my credit card, responsible for
>damage to those vehicles), I've been told that I'm out that money.
>I could agree with the university not paying the insurance costs if
>the rental car had been paid for via a purchase order.  I also
>realize that there's an arcane University policy statement burried
>on some webpage regarding insurance and car rental that tells me
>that I'm in the wrong.  In this case, however, we did all of the
>extra work, including using our own credit card to secure the
>rental, and we're told to eat that expense.   Shouldn't the PI's of
>a grant be allowed to cover their butts with car rental insurance
>when the University has no vehicles for us to rent?   This becomes
>especially hard to swallow (I think it makes my blood pressure go
>up!) when I think about all of the overhead funds, from grants I've
>received to support my work here at UTC, have been funnelled to the
>administration.  This "unique expense" that I've been told to cover,
>added to all of the sad, sad, fiscal news out of the University this
>summer hardly makes me want to write another grant to support my
>research (or teaching) if overhead monies go to the administration!
>UTC's administration should be attempting to make productive faculty
>happy (to some degree) rather than further alienating them with
>fiscal misdeeds and bureaucratic B.S.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Henry Spratt
>
>>I have been mulling the article in this morning's paper on raises for
>>several UTC administrators, and it sticks in my throat like a large fish
>>bone.  Why do administrators rate such hefty salary raises when they assume
>>"additional responsibilities" and faculty get something in the
>>$1,000-$2,000 range, depending on rank and salary, when they assume the
>>"additional responsibility" of an overload course?
>>
>>I hope someone can explain this incongruence to me.
>>
>>Lala
>

--
______________________________________________________________________

Henry G. Spratt, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave.
Chattanooga, TN 37403

Ph:     (423)425-4383
Fax:    (423)425-2285
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.utc.edu/~hspratt/