AV俱乐部 is one of Nova Scotia鈥檚 largest employers, with more than 6,000 faculty and staff across its four campuses and other sites around the region. And each year, as a public sector organization in the province, AV俱乐部 is required to publicly report the names and salaries of all employees whose compensation exceeds $100,000.
The university鈥檚 report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015 was published yesterday (Thursday, July 30), along with reports from other private sector organizations from across Nova Scotia. The report includes the names and compensation of 941 faculty and administrative staff from across the university.
See the report:
Given the public and community interest that has typically followed the report鈥檚 release each year, we asked Ian Nason, AV俱乐部鈥檚 vice-president finance and administration, to provide some additional context and background.
He explains that AV俱乐部鈥檚 success depends on the university鈥檚 ability to attract and keep dedicated and talented faculty and staff.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e looking to create the best learning environments for students, and the best research environments, you need the best people,鈥� says Nason. 鈥淎nd part of that is ensuring that what we offer faculty and staff in terms of compensation not only reflects their contributions to the university, but compares well with other universities.鈥�
Given AV俱乐部鈥檚 status as Atlantic Canada鈥檚 leading (and largest) research university, many candidates looking at faculty and staff positions at Dal are also exploring opportunities at schools across North America and, in some cases, around the world. Nason says that keeping salaries competitive allows AV俱乐部 to attract top-tier candidates.
Here is some additional background about this year鈥檚 salary report.
Who鈥檚 on the list
There are 941 individuals at AV俱乐部 whose compensation totaled $100,000 or more in 2014-15. Of these, 862 (91.6%) are faculty, while the remaining 79 are administrators or senior university staff.
Why the number increases
All salaries at Dal increase each year, as the university鈥檚 collective agreements and contracts are designed to take cost-of-living increases into account. This year鈥檚 increase 鈥� 117 more individuals receiving $100,000-plus 鈥� is in part related to completion of new collective agreements and the implementation of their associated salary increases, as well as the integration of faculty from the Agricultural Campus into the DFA. A similar increase to the list occurred in the 2012/13 report, also following completion of new collective agreements.
Presidential salaries
This year鈥檚 report is the first to include a full year鈥檚 compensation for President Richard Florizone; last year鈥檚 only covered 10 months, given his start date of July 1, 2013. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015, Dr. Florizone received compensation totalling $390,052. As outlined [PDF], the president鈥檚 salary increases each year based on the review and recommendations of the Human Resources Committee of the Board of Governors. The salaries for the university鈥檚 vice-presidents, deans and other senior leaders are all included in the report.
As was included in last year鈥檚 report, and will also be in next year鈥檚 report, President Emeritus Tom Traves鈥檚 contract had an administrative leave provision such that upon the completion of each five-year term he would be eligible for an additional year of salary. Therefore, the 2014/15 list also includes $457,251 in compensation for Dr. Traves. This sort of provision is common in Canadian university presidential contracts and is a practice consistent with the academic sabbatical model.
Budget context
Most compensation for Dal faculty and staff comes from the university 鈥� in fact, it鈥檚 AV俱乐部鈥檚 largest expense by a good margin. AV俱乐部 76 per cent of AV俱乐部鈥檚 operating budget goes towards salaries, benefits and related compensation across the university, to a total of nearly $300 million annually. That funding is spread across the university, with more than 75 per cent of it residing in Faculties and academic areas.
Though some of the larger salaries in the compensation report lie within the university鈥檚 senior administration, AV俱乐部鈥檚 overall administrative spending remains lower than most of its peers. The most recent numbers reported to the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) have AV俱乐部鈥檚 administrative spending at 6.9 per cent of total expenses for 2013/14 (a slight increase from 6.7 per cent in 2012/13). Among Canada鈥檚 U15 group of leading research universities, AV俱乐部鈥檚 percentage of administrative costs is the second lowest (behind only Western). Among Nova Scotian universities, where the average percentage of administration costs is 14.5 per cent, AV俱乐部鈥檚 percentage is actually the lowest. (Along similar lines, AV俱乐部鈥檚 presidential salary鈥攚hile still competitive with those at similar-sized institutions鈥攊s among the lower of such contracts in the U15.)
For more information on the Nova Scotia Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act, . 聽
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