Staff members said they have had to adjust their budgets and financial plans to make ends meet after officials announced a halt to annual merit-based salary increases in late April to address a “structural deficit” in the University’s expense budget. 

Several staff members, including those in academic and information technology departments, said officials don’t understand the financial position they put staff in when they decided that staff salary increases will not take place in July, which staff said they rely on each year due to the continuously increasing cost of necessities, like childcare and healthcare. The concerns follow a year of staff expressing frustration over insufficient staff input in the University’s strategic plan framework, a lack of communication with officials, low salaries and “overwhelming” burnout driven by mounting workloads and deficient support resources.

Provost Chris Bracey, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes and Chief of Staff Scott Mory said in an email to faculty and staff in late April that GW will cut its fiscal year 2026 total expense budget by 3 percent to address a “structural deficit” after the University’s expenses have surpassed their current revenues in recent years. The email also said usual merit-based staff salary increases will “not take place” in July, but officials plan to “revisit” the decision later in the year after determining fall enrollment revenues.

Fernandes defended officials’ decision to suspend merit-based salary increases and cut the University’s expense budget during a Faculty Senate meeting last month, calling it the “least disruptive” way to avoid “institutionalized” layoffs in response to faculty inquiries.

Under the merit-pay model, officials annually review faculty and staff’s performance over the course of the year and award additional compensation to individuals who go beyond their duties. Some Staff Council members raised concerns that the system was “broken” in January 2024 because some supervisors have said they cannot afford additional merit pay after paying for unit needs.

University spokesperson Shannon McClendon said the University’s “longstanding” commitment to staff “well-being” and retention remains unchanged following the halts to merit increases. She said the University’s responses to address budget challenges, like halting merit increases, “understandably” raise questions and concerns among faculty and staff.

She said the merit increase halts on July 1 will also apply to executives and executive staff. 

McClendon said the University is “committed” to aiding “leaders” with resources to guide their teams and support morale as the institution undergoes measures to ensure budget alignment. She said leaders are encouraged to work with their teams in order to manage and prioritize workloads.

“The University is grateful for the dedication of our faculty and staff, whose expertise drives our mission every day,” McClendon said in an email. “The continued understanding, cooperation and flexibility during this time is greatly appreciated.”

Emily Lewis, the former biology department supervisor, said she left the University in May to pursue another job where she didn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck like she had to do while she was working at GW. She said faculty in the biology department submitted a proposal to Columbian College of Arts & Sciences leadership in December to make the case to raise her salary after hearing she was thinking of leaving the University. 

Lewis said CCAS administration looked at the proposal, but denied the request soon after. She said she decided to leave because CCAS leadership wasn’t willing to “value [her] as a person” and as an employee who worked hard to keep one of their “revenue-generating” departments running. 

“Why wouldn’t I go somewhere else that is actually going to value me and is going to pay me for the work that I do, where I can live and have actual savings?” she said.

Lewis said she was “really frustrated” by officials’ announcement that they were halting merit increases because staff completed their performance review for this year and officials “dangled” merit increases in front of their faces from the start of the year when telling staff to “step up” and better the school experience for students.

“The administration makes a truly ludicrous amount of money compared to the staff. Like, why aren’t we looking at that?” Lewis asked. 

A staff member, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation from the University, said they had to get a second job because the cost of living is rising faster than their salary at GW. The staff member, who has a master’s degree in their field and over 20 years of experience working in education, said officials’ decision to pause the merit salary increase this year makes their situation “even worse” with rising everyday costs, like groceries and childcare.

“I never expected at this stage of my career that I would need to take on a second job to survive, but that’s where we are,” the staff member said.

The staff member said it’s becoming “more common” to see staff “rush off” to their second job after their workday at GW ends, meaning they have less availability to work overtime or stay late to solve student issues. They said they are aware of other staff members who have considered getting a second job or who have already pursued second jobs elsewhere, especially after officials announced the pause.

They said the University is also considering adding to staff’s expense “burdens” as they consider requiring technical staff, whose jobs can be performed remotely, to work in person. They said requiring most staff to work in person would increase their cost of living as they’ve have to pay for parking or public transportation, extended hours of childcare services, work appropriate clothes and additional car maintenance. 

Seth Weinshel, the associate vice president of business services responsible for housing, dining and other auxiliary services, told the Staff Council at their meeting last month that officials are growing staff eligibility for reduced parking rates starting July 1 by increasing the maximum threshold for the lowest tier of faculty and staff parking rates from $59,199 to $68,000 and below. More faculty and staff will qualify for the lowest University parking rate of $150 per month, Weinshel said.

Fernandes said at an April Staff Council meeting that hybrid and remote work policies have not changed but will be looked at over the summer in collaboration with the Staff Council and other University groups to decide the best structure going forward in order to meet the “academic mission” and enhance the student experience.

“We are currently reviewing the policy and looking at it,” Fernandes said at the meeting. “We haven’t made any decisions in terms of what the plan is going to be going forward.”

Angelique Redmond, the assistant director of physician assistant studies and a Staff Council member, said she was “grateful” the University chose to halt merit increases instead of layoffs, adding that this decision should not be met by return-to-office mandates. She said officials’ decision to halt merit increases aligns with the University’s values of respect, diversity and courage because officials did not turn to layoffs amid changing external factors, like with federal funding for institutions.

“In this context, protecting jobs should take priority over salary increases,” Redmond said in an email. “I believe that temporarily pausing salary increases during this volatile climate is a better option than resorting to layoffs.”

Staff Council President Kim Fulmer sent out a survey to staff in her May newsletter requesting their feedback on the halting of merit increases this year. Staff Council members at a meeting last month said the survey revealed over 76.8 percent of staff who took the survey as of the meeting agree that officials’ decision to halt merit increases this year was the right decision over laying off employees. 

Hanna McCathren, a digital transformation specialist in GW’s Division of Information Technology and a Staff Council representative, said she was “anticipating disappointment” from any University decision to address budget challenges after officials’ reactions to questions in recent months from staff about budget issues made it seem like administration was gearing up for an announcement behind the scenes. She said there’s always “push and pull” between what’s best for the University as a whole and for faculty, staff and community members who don’t necessarily understand the institution’s position when they make decisions that may affect community members. 

“I think in some cases, their hands are more tied than we necessarily realize in terms of where they move money to, but I mean they have a fiduciary responsibility at the end of the day and I think that binds them more than a lot of people realize,” McCathren said.

McCathren said she has thought about leaving the University or getting a second job in the past, but hasn’t made the decision to do so. She said she would think about leaving her position or getting another job in the case that the University went in a moral direction that didn’t align with her values or if her salary would not be able to cover her increasing daycare expenses.

“If that persists, then I won’t mathematically be able to work enough to pay for daycare and I would have to either find another job or honestly leave the workforce entirely,” McCathren said.