An update on employee compensation

Colleagues,

As we get ready to start a new semester, I want to share an important update about employee compensation that reflects our ongoing commitment to our people and to KU’s long-term financial health. As I’ve shared over the past year, employee pay is a top administrative priority.

Across KU, we have engaged in multi-year work to create a compensation structure that is both fair and sustainable. Through those efforts, we have brought many faculty and staff members to appropriate benchmark levels. We still have work to do in this space, and getting all our faculty and staff to the appropriate benchmarks and aligning compensation practices and principles across all KU campuses will take another 4-5 years of investment into our compensation plan.

Over the past few years, we have made difficult decisions to prioritize our resources and strengthen our financial foundation. These steps, while not always easy, have been essential to putting KU on a path toward long-term stability and growth. Despite the challenges of the past year, and by implementing ongoing strategic fiscal measures, we will be able to reinvest a significant percentage of our savings into our continued journey towards the appropriate market pay levels for all faculty and staff.

Effective January 18, 2026, compensation structures for university staff will be adjusted to reflect pay ranges aligned with market rates.

On the same date, all eligible employees will receive a 1% increase, however, employees whose compensation falls below the new minimum rates or who have been identified as needing a compression adjustment, as calculated by HR, may receive a higher increase.   

The university recognizes its collective bargaining obligations to meet and confer in good faith with each of the recognized bargaining units at the university. This message in no way suggests the university has made decisions or implemented wage actions for positions within a recognized bargaining unit where the meet and confer process has not yet concluded.

Later today, campus leaders and KU Human Resources will share additional detailed information, including links to FAQs.

Thank you

KU’s greatest asset is its people. We remain grounded in the belief that the university must remain an employer of choice in an increasingly competitive environment. We know that to deliver on our mission, and to build a stronger, more resilient university, we must recruit and retain talented faculty and staff who feel valued and supported in their work. This is a step forward in that direction, and it will not be the last.

Thank you for your dedication and perseverance, especially through the challenging periods of recent years. I am deeply grateful for all that you do to make KU a place of excellence, compassion, and shared purpose.

Respectfully,

Doug

Douglas A. Girod
Chancellor