Some ENMU employees to get raises

PORTALES — For their service to the college, certain Eastern New Mexico University employees will soon be receiving a raise to the tune of $2,288.

The raise was approved at the ENMU Board of Regents’ April 20 meeting in Albuquerque, according to ENMU President Jeff Elwell, and grants the raise — which comes to $1.10 an hour for hourly workers — to any employees on the ENMU payroll on Dec. 31, 2017 and July 1 of the current year, when the raise will take effect.

“The average raise is somewhere around 4.5 percent. The dollars are the same, but the percentages are different. If you’re a vice president, it’s probably less than 2 percent, whereas if you’re a custodian or a departmental secretary, it’s closer to 9 or 10 percent. If you’re an assistant professor, it’s between 4 and 4.5 percent,” Elwell said.

The raises came from two separate sources, he said: a 4.9 percent tuition increase previously approved by the board, and a 1.41 percent compensation increase ENMU was granted by the state for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

Some employees stand to gain even more income, according to Elwell: An “equity pool” of roughly $80,000 has been set aside for employees whose salaries are “way out of line, to try to get them closer to being where they should be.”

“That will be on top, for those individuals, of the $2,288,” he said.

Elwell requested the bonuses, he said, because his philosophy is to “reward the people who are helping you be successful, and that’s the faculty and staff, and the board of regents also is very supportive of raising compensation.”

“I think our employees deserve it, and I’m very happy to be able to award it,” he said.