TROY – Troy University faculty and staff will receive a 5 percent pay increase beginning Sept. 1.

Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. made the announcement during his 18th annual address to faculty and staff convocations on the Troy Campus Monday.

“This year, we’ll invest two-thirds of the additional funding we received from the State of Alabama in our people through increased salaries, benefits and new personnel,” Dr. Hawkins said. “You are important and we hope you know that.”

About $6 million in additional funding by the Legislature will cover the costs of the salary increase, insurance contribution and new faculty positions, Dr. Hawkins said. TROY received a 19.8 percent overall budget increase for the new fiscal year that beings in September.

Dr. Hawkins told faculty members that the administration remained dedicated to bringing salaries to the southeastern average, acknowledging that the 5 percent raise wouldn’t achieve that goal in one step.

“We’re not there yet, but we are making progress,” he said.

In addition to the across-the-board pay increase, the University has increased its contribution to the employees’ health insurance fund, lowering monthly premiums for TROY employees to the state’s average for public universities.

About $284,000 was allocated to insurance premiums, combining a $1 million contribution last year, to put the family coverage premium at $235 per month. In two years, that premium has been decreased from $432 per month.

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