AUBG Town Hall: Why Staff Still Await Gratitude and Better Pay

On Sunday, October 19, a town hall meeting was held after the annual Fall Board of Trustees meeting. According to an email from J.D. Mininger earlier this week, the meeting’s purpose was - “hear important updates, have meaningful conversations, and connect directly with AUBG Board members.”

New Chairs to the Board of Trustees

The meeting was led by Victoria Entwistle – the deputy chair of the Board of Trustees. She shared with the audience that the Board has elected a new chair and two new deputy chairs.  

The new chair is Jenik Radon, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Public and International Affairs at Columbia University. The two new deputy chairs are Petya Stoycheva and Svetoslav Georgiev. Although it is a precedent in the university’s history to have two deputy chairs, the tradition of having an American Chair and a Bulgarian Deputy(s) has been kept.

The Presidential Search

Board member Kim Sawyer discussed the ongoing search for a new university president. The Board selected the company Perrett Laver to lead the process, in light of the firm’s expertise in Balkan and Eastern European history and culture. Notably, the Board chose not to work with the firm that recruited the previous president.

A highlight of the talk was that the university receives an 18-month warranty when choosing to work with Perret Laver. That means that if either the board decides to let go of the new president, or he/she leaves in the first year and a half after the appointment, the search company will conduct a second search process for free.

Faculty Involvement

A professor asked whether faculty members would have access to the list of presidential candidates. He mentioned his concerns about the previous president’s fit with AUBG and the fact that some faculty members knew that fact but were not given a floor to express their concerns. The answer was yes; faculty serving on the Presidential Search Committee are encouraged to consult with their colleagues about presidential candidates. Staff involvement in the process is also encouraged.

The first candidate for the presidential position is J.D. Mininger, who is the current Provost and Interim President. He has expressed that even if he does not get elected, he would gladly help the chosen candidate get acquainted with the position and AUBG’s environment. Additionally, a new opportunity to get to know the Board and its work better is being introduced. Students, faculty, and staff have already received the “Board Book” via email. Inside of it, they can read reports created by different Board Committees. 

The University Budget

When talking about the budget, co-chair of the Finance Committee, David Cleave, said that the budget is in a minor deficit. However, if the potential $5 million we could get back to the CIDC is included, the budget is in surplus. 

The topic of the $25 million donation from America for Bulgaria was also touched on. It was explained that this donation is not operational money that the university can use for its expenses but toward AUBG’s endowment. This means the university cannot withdraw money from this donation as of right now. The first chance to do so without having to repay it back is in 2029.

Until then, AUBG hopes to still be financially stable. In order to do so, it is becoming more strict about its costs, namely travel, food, and beverages expenses. On a positive note, the Board mentioned their hopes to be more financially stable with the growing number of students admitted.

Staff Compensation

After the updates, the Board opened the floor for questions. Most questions were related to university staff compensation.

The first person to ask a question was Anna Spasova, who is part of the Admissions team. As the chair of the staff council, Spasova expressed her and her colleagues’ concerns regarding their compensation. Taking into consideration the current rate of inflation and the fact that the euro will be adopted in 3 months, staff become more and more concerned about the buying power of their salaries. 

“We [staff] are extremely worried, demotivated, and angry, because we feel underpaid. Furthermore, they’re aware of the pay of other educational institutions in Bulgaria and outside, and there is a significant disparity.” Spasova asked, “When can we expect that AUBG will express gratitude toward its staff?”

Addressing the question, Deputy Chair Georgiev explained that the salaries are benchmarked to the market, though no specific market was mentioned. The board said that they understand the staff’s concerns, which made the whole audience laugh. It then proceeded to explain that if every worker in the university had the compensation they think they deserve, then they would have to raise the tuition and make AUBG an exclusive educational institution.

The problem with benchmarking seems to have been a hot topic for quite some time. As mentioned by staff, they were promised a pay increase at the last town hall meeting in spring 2025. That, however, is yet to be fulfilled. 

No specific answer was given to the question of who staff members get benchmarked against. Steven London, senior Writing Center coordinator, asked who exactly he gets benchmarked against. He was told that they do not know who he is or what his position at the university is. Therefore, they could not tell him his benchmark criteria. 

Dean of Students - Sabina A. Wien - stepped up with a proposal for a joint effort between the board and staff to solve these problems and bear the responsibilities and consequences together. However, the board said that staff’s compensation is not a board matter.

That brings the next question – whose matter is it? Turns out, it is in fact a board matter. What the board tried to say is that individual compensation is not on its agenda. Then Julian Milev tried to cool off the situation by explaining the financial constraint AUBG faces. 

Hope for compromise

The Board expressed its willingness to improve the way it serves the university and stated that it is open to recommendations. The outcome staff members hope to get is to have a permanent staff representative to the Board, a position that currently does not exist. 

Confusing Ending

The meeting ended when Georgiev said that it was supposed to be just an update from the board, not a town hall meeting. Yet, in the email sent to everyone in the university, the phrase “town hall meeting” was explicitly used. 

 

Edited by: Toma Krumov & Janina Ormanova