Summer 2024 Employee Update

Dear Colleagues:  

Since my arrival as TXST president, one of my top priorities has been to recognize the exceptional work that you do by investing in salary increases, employee benefits, and additional positions. This is directly tied to achieving our Hopes and Aspirations High goal for TXST to become an employer of choice.  

Today, I am pleased to announce two more significant steps toward that goal.  
 
First, we will invest over $12 million in our TXST employees for FY25. This investment breaks down along these lines:  

• We have created a more than $8 million salary allocation pool for eligible employees to be awarded at the divisional vice president’s discretion.
• In addition, the university has set aside nearly $750,000 to raise the salaries of staff members who are currently paid below the relevant market minimums. These market-based adjustments are being guided by the compensation study which began in 2023, with the goal of bringing all employee salaries up to market-competitive levels over the next several years. 
• We have allocated about $1.25 million to create 17 new staff positions.  
• The university also funded $1.5 million for the creation of a new promotion-eligible faculty title series announced this spring, which will provide long-deserved recognition for the work our teaching colleagues have done over the years. 
  We will also maintain our decades-long commitment to funding Texas State University
• Longevity Pay and faculty promotion raises which will cost approximately $750,000 this year.  

 As usual, most of these merit and salary adjustments will be reflected in October 1, 2024, paychecks, though a handful will go into effect July 1, 2024. Watch for additional details about implementation from our Office of Human Resources. I want to thank our Human Resources staff and the Budget Office for their hard work in developing the FY25 salary program.  

Second, there are a few education-related benefit improvements you should know about. After beginning to offer a 25% tuition discount to the dependents of employees last year, I am pleased to announce that the discount will increase to 50% beginning this Fall semester. As a reminder, all benefit-eligible employees effectively receive a 100% tuition discount, and that benefit is about to improve as well. Later this week, we will publicly launch TXST Online with many degree programs available completely online in a fast-paced format. The employee tuition discount will be applicable to TXST Online classes.  

These investments in you are well-deserved. They reflect our appreciation for your dedication to our students and for the level of quality education, service, and support that you provide to our university community. 
 
Although we have made great strides in the past two years, please know that my commitment to making TXST an even better employer of choice will continue. We have more to do, so let’s keep working together to continue making this a great place to serve, to learn, to discover, to live, and to thrive. I am so proud to serve alongside you. Thank you for all you do.   
 
Sincerely,  
 
Kelly Damphousse, Ph.D.  
President