LMU Increases Base Compensation for Lowest-Paid Workers to $21 per Hour

October 25, 2022

Dear LMU Community:

Last spring, I concluded that we must do more for our lowest-paid colleagues, and as a first step, the university announced unprecedented increases that were realized beginning with last week’s paychecks. I have been heartened by the continued activism and concern within our community because this issue is about who we are, who we seek to be, and how we support the least compensated among us. Today, I am pleased to announce that, beginning next April, the base compensation for LMU’s lowest-paid workers will be $21 per hour, along with living wage targets as part of a new multiyear plan. The new $21 baseline does not include our health care and other benefits. We are also evaluating various methodologies, including the MIT Living Wage Calculator, to allow a sustained approach for future wage determination with the goal of enabling all our community members to live with self-sufficiency within our region.

My lifelong commitment to social justice and our strengthened emphases on diversity, equity, and inclusion have been, and continue to be, my North Star when we consider compensation. As a result of my discernment and communication with LMU students, faculty, staff, regents, and trustees, the path forward became clearer. I thank each of you for these helpful conversations. With our mission leading the way, and our strategic plan guiding our anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion commitment and goals, I asked campus leaders to redirect strategic funding in this year’s and next year’s budgets to prioritize and support these well-earned raises.

Adjustments of this scale and complexity require significant time and effort, including detailed budget models and analyses from dedicated colleagues. While the university shared progress along the way, I understand that some members of our community were frustrated, perceiving incremental progress. But to ensure that our guidance can be relied upon with integrity, we can commit to changes only when we are able to predict their impacts with relative certainty. Our annual census date was Sept. 27, and those essential enrollment and revenue estimates helped us commit to this latest round
of raises.

LMU indeed is its people, working together and caring for one another, all in service of our mission of furthering knowledge and educating whole persons for and with others. While community members of good conscience may differ on how we manage specific issues, our shared desire to advance our mission and values remains at the center of our decision making at all moments. From expanding the minds and hearts of our students, to helping maintain the beauty of our campuses, to being persons for and with others, each of you makes me proud to serve at LMU.

With humility, and always in solidarity,

Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D.
President