Letter writer presented misinformation about university professors

By Lethbridge Herald on March 23, 2022.

Editor:

As a faculty member of ULFA, I was disturbed by Mr. Shier’s letter published on March 10, 2022 entitled “Striking U of L faculty need to go back to work.” Mr. Shier’s letter is filled with such misinformation and misrepresentation of our profession that I feel a great need to dispel and clarify as a public service. 

First of all, Mr. Shier mentioned that “very few of you are in the under $200,000 salary range.”This information is completely wrong. In fact, the opposite holds true and this has been published on numerous occasions. Very few are in the above $200,000 salary range. Indeed, 76 per cent of our members’ salaries are below the Sunshine list ($136,805 in 2021). For example, I am a full professor in Psychology, the highest rank in the faculty. Currently, I earn $110,000 a year but over the past 10 years, as a faculty member at U of L, I earned less than $100,000. Once taxes and pension are taken into account, I received $4,500 to $5,500 each month. It appears that Mr. Shier has calculated the top earnings of a few professors and administrators ($14,483 per month) and has erroneously applied that to the majority of the faculty and instructors. There are few positions in which 10 to 12 years of university studies (unpaid time) and 10+ years of working in the industry would only equate to $110,000 annually. 

Second, faculty members are not only underpaid (compared to our comparator institutions), but our extensive work duties are also underappreciated. Our teaching constitutes 40 per cent of our workload, yet, we spend at least 20-30 hours a week preparing for lectures and addressing student questions in addition to our time in the classroom. Personally, as I teach large classes (200+ students), I spend more than 10 hours a week – every week – just replying to student emails. Our research activities constitute another 40 per cent of our work with little recognition or no salary compensation, often collaborating with others for 10 – 15 hours a week on these projects. In addition, I currently supervise ten undergraduate and graduate students in my lab, meeting with each of them on a weekly basis, helping them with research projects, and supporting them to pursue their dream: this equates to another 10 – 15 hours a week. Again, there is little recognition and no salary compensation. I often work at night, on weekends, and over holidays not for money but out of passion and conscience. Finally, the remaining 20 per cent of our workload relates to service. 

We provide service to the university, to the academic community, and to the public at large. For example, I have previously organized two international conferences as part of my service. Both of these brought people from across the country and internationally to our city, which not only generates revenues for the city but also increases our city’s reputation. Both marked the first time that many conference attendees had heard about and had experienced Lethbridge and learned about our institution. I do not benefit financially by organizing these conferences. My colleagues and I work at least 10 hours a week on Service, again for free. So let me stress: No full-time faculty member works just a 40-hour, five-day week.

Third, we contribute to our students future success, and to highlighting our own institution, which in turn benefits other members of the society. Students graduating from my lab become psychologists, teachers, speech language pathologists, and lawyers, or pursue further degrees at prestigious institutions, such as McGill and UBC. We received millions in federal funding for research projects, which enhances the university’s reputation, supports students financially, advances knowledge, and fosters innovation.

This strike is a humble cry from myself and colleagues, who are overworked and underpaid, often in precarious positions, because we have increasingly lost our representative voice in the university’s affairs. We are professors that the city and the U of L should be proud of and supportive of, but to our dismay, we see contempt and ridicule in letters like Mr. Shier’s. To say that we are treated unfairly is an understatement. We deserve meaningful participation in university decisions with respect to academic matters, and respect and appreciation from the university and from the public. We have students’ interests at heart. And we are also eager to reach a fair settlement soon so that we can continue to serve students and disseminate knowledge that benefits our province, Canada and the rest of the world. I believe supporting our strike is in the best interest of Lethbridge citizens. Why send students elsewhere when you have a high-quality university at your doorstep? Why travel to other cities when you can access information, services, conferences, festivals, and many more things, through our own university? Please support us, because we all deserve it.

Fangfang Li

Professor and Board of Governors Research Chair,

Psychology Department