While employees across the U.S. live in fear of layoffs, UNM faculty and staff are encouraged to donate part of their paychecks to support the University.
John Stropp, president of the UNM Foundation, said next year's fundraising campaign will aim in part at UNM employees.
"A part of our campaign, at the end, will be employee-driven," Stropp said. "We will have a campaign just for the faculty and staff of the University. As we move into the final stages of the campaign, focusing on the faculty, retired faculty and staff will be kind of a mini campaign within the major campaign, and that can raise several million dollars."
But the funds raised by the Foundation in this campaign will not be used to prevent layoffs at the University, Stropp said.
However, the money donated to the Foundation could be used for endowed professorships and department chairs.
"Funding for faculty salaries, other than through the endowments that we raise, really is not what we're about," Stropp said. "But I don't think that these cutbacks are going to result in job loss here."
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President David Schmidly said he is confident UNM will be able to pay its employees with the help of state funding.
"I believe we will be prepared - whatever lies ahead - to ensure fulfillment of our core missions of teaching and research, even while maintaining our current work force and keeping tuition affordable," Schmidly said in an e-mail.ˇ"I'm confident that our Legislature appreciates the importance of higher education as an investment in New Mexico's future."
How much?
According to an article published in the New York Times last month, presidents at colleges across the country are taking voluntary pay cuts to support their institutions.
Mark Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, announced he would take a 5 percent cut from his base salary in January and another 5 percent reduction in July, according to the article.
Schmidly would not say whether he would consider making a similar donation to UNM.
Through independent research of some 16,572 employee listings in UNM's Salary Book, the Daily Lobo determined that 175 employees make more than $200,000. Of those, 41 make more than $300,000. Of those, nine make more than $400,000.
If the top 23 earners, not including medical faculty, donated 5 percent of their salaries to UNM, the University would receive about $280,000. This would require an average donation of $11,000 from each top earner who makes an average salary of more than $240,000.
If the top 175 earners, including medical faculty, donated 5 percent of their salaries to the Foundation, the University would receive more than $2.3 million.
Giving back
Many of UNM's top earners said they already give back to the University.
John Pieper, dean of the College of Pharmacy, said he gives an average of $2,000 a year through the Foundation.
"I feel, as a dean, the responsibility to give money back," he said.
Pieper said he encourages those who work in the College of Pharmacy to donate as well.
"You have to create a culture of giving and describe how their gift might be helpful within the University or within the College of Pharmacy, but I do encourage people to (give), and some do and some don't, but I think they have to feel the need to do it. They have to do it out of their heart," he said. "And I think it's important for me to make an example of doing it as well."
Pieper said the recession makes it more important than ever for employees to consider supporting the institution where they work.
"I think it's more important, but I think it's more difficult," he said. "We need help from nonstate revenues as much as possible."
However, faculty and staff might hesitate to donate because their financial future is uncertain, Pieper said.
"We are probably looking at, in July, no raises for faculty or staff, potentially," he said. "So, I think people are very concerned about what's going to happen, so they're probably very tentative."
For the students
Other top earners said they give to the UNM Foundation, mainly in the form of support for student scholarships.
UNM men's basketball coach Steve Alford said in a statement that he donates through the UNM Lobo Club, which provides scholarships for Lobo student-athletes.
Josephine De Leon, vice president for Equity and Inclusion, said in an e-mail that she supports UNM through United Way.
"I am supportive of efforts where I am able to give back in some way, since I feel that I have been blessed. I have given to every institution that I have been at, and I have also given to several community organizations," she said. "As a new member of this University and this community, I feel that my responsibility to give is no different here."
Provost Suzanne Ortega said she also donates through United Way.
"I believe that it is absolutely essential in these hard times that all of us give, as we can, to support the University community but also the larger communities of which we are a part," she said in an e-mail.
Marc Nigliazzo, vice president of Rio Rancho Operations and Branch Academic Affairs, said he has always given back to the institutions he has worked for.
"Over the years, I have especially supported scholarship programs and other programs to assist students. I've also frequently targeted some of my annual United Way contribution to institutional support," he said in an e-mail. "As a former college president, I know the importance of foundation support in not only maintaining institutional excellence but in providing vital, targeted support during periods of declining state funding for higher education."
Stropp said students are encouraged to donate as well, if they are able. He said the Foundation will begin making presentations to students during orientation next year.
"We just want you to be aware of who we are, and the fact that we're providing the scholarships, and that we know you're important - you're the reason we're here," he said. "And it's a big business, admittedly, but beyond the business is the fact that it's a noble cause. It's why I'm still here."
The tax break
Stropp said UNM employees who wish to donate can do so by having money deducted directly from their paycheck monthly, quarterly or annually. They could also donate stock or real estate, he said.
Many donors pledge to give a certain amount over five years - most often $15,000, which comes to $3,000 annually, Stropp said.
Donors receive many benefits, including membership in charitable societies at UNM, recognition for their donation and a tax deduction, he said.
According to 2008 federal income tax information, employees who earn between $200,300 and $357,700 who are married and file jointly with their spouse would receive a $990 tax deduction on a $3,000 charitable donation.
