The UA will invest nearly $300,000 this year to increase its lowest-paid employees' salaries from $8.20 to $8.50 per hour, according to a document released late yesterday afternoon by President Peter Likins and Provost George Davis.

The raises will be coupled with a $4.8 million annual allocation that will increase salaries of faculty, staff and academic professionals across the university.

Jerrold Hogle, distinguished professor of English and chair of the Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Council, said that this plan is intended to reduce the university's dependency on the state.

The announcement of the funding plan says the money will "supplement the state-appropriated salary package," which means that no matter what the state provides to the university for salaries in the future, administrators plan to have money set aside for use on salary increases if necessary. One of the plan's goals is to prevent some of the emergency salary increases that occur in the middle of the semester as an effort to keep a staff or faculty member.

The document released yesterday elaborates on one of five steps announced Friday to help reduce brain drain, the exodus of faculty from the UA to higher-paying universities. Administrators estimate the UA needs $64 million to make its employees' salaries competitive in the market.

Friday's announcement detailed plans for requesting $15 million from the state budget for faculty retention.

The increase in university minimum wage for the lowest-paid staff positions would add more than $600 annually to these salaries, based on 40-hours of work per week for 52 weeks. Margie Barber, director of administration and finance for the Arizona Cancer Center, said that people leaving the university for better wages elsewhere is a concern.

"It's a critical problem," Barber said. "This is not a joke. This is not a threat."

She said that when one person leaves his or her job, others often follow.

"It can have a domino effect," Barber said.

The loss of a staff or faculty member can lead to loss in feelings of camaraderie, funding from outside sources, sense of community and morale in an office, Barber said. The plan allows UA Human Resources, Likins and UA vice presidents to give a portion of the $4.8 million to the positions they determine need it most.

After those funds are distributed, the vice presidents will analyze needs in other areas and allocate the rest of the money as they see necessary. All administrators involved in the process will receive more detailed information about the plan next week.