Dear members of the Redbird community,

This communication is an update on important developments in contract negotiations with University Professionals of Illinois, United Faculty of ISU (UFISU), the Union representing Illinois State University’s approximately 650 non-administrative tenured and tenure-track faculty. On March 21, 2025, the Union announced that its membership had voted to authorize a strike. Below, the campus community can find updates about the negotiation process and the University’s approach to negotiations. 

What this vote means for the campus community  

We understand this news may concern students and families. No matter the outcome, the University is working to minimize the impact on our students and campus, and keep you informed of any potential developments. With commencement just around the corner, we’d like to reassure our students who have applied for graduation that commencement will proceed as planned. At this time, all students should stay engaged in their coursework and maintain their academic progress. 

This strike authorization is a development the University has worked hard to avoid. It is worth noting that a strike authorization does not make a strike inevitable: it gives the Union bargaining team the option to call for a strike, which they may or may not exercise. While we remain committed to bargaining in good faith and optimistic that the parties can reach agreement without a strike, the University has initiated academic contingency planning activities to ensure its ability to minimize disruption should a strike occur. 

The negotiation process 

Since negotiations began, the UFISU and University bargaining teams have met 42 times, including seven meetings under the guidance of an independent federal mediator. Through negotiations and with the mediator’s guidance since January 13, 2025, the parties have reached tentative agreements covering a majority of topics, while making significant progress on the remaining open issues, including economics. While the outstanding issues are complex, we believe we can resolve them together through further dialogue at our upcoming mediation sessions, scheduled for March 24, March 28, April 2, and April 4, 2025. The University communicates updates on the status of these meetings at: https://ufisunegotiations.illinoisstate.edu/. 

Faculty are valued and core to the University 

Illinois State understands that faculty are vital to any university. After all, students come to a university to learn from and with faculty. We have spent many years as faculty in addition to our administrative experience. The University wants our faculty at every rank to be compensated competitively against peer institutions and is keenly aware that without competitive faculty salaries, we cannot attract and retain the best faculty. Consequently, the University’s most recent proposal to the Union would increase average wages for all Illinois State professors to at or above market level by January 1, 2027; salaries for assistant and associate professors would achieve this benchmark within one month of contract ratification. 

A point of difference impeding agreement is that, while Illinois State has used institutions in the Midwest classified as R2 (a group to which Illinois State belongs) to benchmark faculty salaries, the Union’s compensation expectations are benchmarked against all doctoral-granting U.S. public colleges and universities, including over 100 Carnegie Classified R1 institutions, such as the University of Michigan, UC-Berkeley, and the University of Illinois Chicago.

Please click the image below for an apples-to-apples comparison of average salaries for Illinois State’s tenure-track faculty and those at our peer institutions—Carnegie Classification public R2 (High Research) universities in the U.S. Census Bureau Midwest region.   

(https://ufisunegotiations.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/ISU%20R2%20Benchmarks%20tagged.pdf)  

The University’s approach and negotiating principles 

While addressing the pay of our tenured and tenure-track faculty, we must also ensure Illinois State’s long-term fiscal viability. The University’s FY24 audit shows a net positive balance of $14.2 million, primarily because revenues for restricted funds exceeded expenses by $21.3 million. These accounts can only be used for the purposes for which they were charged (e.g., housing, dining, parking, etc.). In contrast, the unrestricted funds, or general revenue funds, which pay for most University operations, including faculty and staff salaries and benefits, show a net deficit of $(7.1) million.  

Disconcertingly, the unrestricted fund deficit was $(4.6) million in FY23 and projected to quickly grow to a $15 million deficit in FY26. Recognizing that the accelerating deficit in the unrestricted funds is unsustainable, the University proactively introduced a comprehensive initiative termed Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability, Excellence (RISE) to avoid the fate many institutions face nationwide. This effort has already begun to stabilize the University’s finances. 

Next steps

The University remains committed to continued good-faith negotiations to reach a contract agreement that reflects the needs of all stakeholders and demonstrates the value we place on our faculty. However, we are also committed to the principle that the University must remain fiscally prudent, resilient, and sustainable for the long term.  

We look forward to continued engagement with UFISU. As information becomes available, additional updates will be provided on the University’s Contract Negotiations Status webpage (https://ufisunegotiations.illinoisstate.edu/) and through direct email communication.  

Sincerely,

Ani Yazedjian, Ph.D. 
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Dr. Glen Nelson, Ph.D.
Vice President for Finance and Planning