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Key Indicators
By 2006, we will:

1. Increase the average faculty salary to at least 90 percent of the benchmark median.
2. Develop institutional policies and procedures that promote recruitment and retention of faculty and staff.
3. Increase by three the number of active or emeritus faculty with membership in the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, or the Institute of Medicine.
4. Increase from 12 to 15 the number of nationally recognized awards and honors earned by faculty.

A 
distinguished faculty is the cornerstone of a successful research university. An excellent and diverse faculty, characterized by exceptional scholarship, superb teaching, and dedicated service, is essential if the University is to gain greater national prominence. The faculty members need the broad-based support of the University community -- partnerships with superior staff, excellent facilities, and a commitment to quality -- if they are to realize their full promise. A primary focus for the University will be to attract, develop and retain a distinguished faculty.

Objectives:

1. The University will offer competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain distinguished faculty. Compensation is the most important resource for attracting and retaining distinguished faculty. We must make competitive faculty salaries our first priority.
    
2. The University will offer competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain superior staff. Compensation and career development opportunities are essential resources for developing and retaining excellent staff. Staff salaries, as well as health care and other benefits critical to the current and future welfare of all employees, are included among our highest priorities.
    
3. The University will institute policies to attract and retain a distinguished faculty. The University's policies must facilitate the recruitment and appointment of highly qualified faculty. We must identify and implement best practices in minority faculty recruitment, develop initiatives designed to find employment for partners of new hires, and ease the transition to the University of Kentucky for new faculty.
    
4. The University will strengthen support to faculty and staff. Providing exemplary support to facilitate effective faculty-staff partnerships is essential to our success. We must improve the quality of the support infrastructure -- business and administrative services, facilities and equipment, libraries, development opportunities, and academic and technical services -- to enable a talented faculty to achieve national prominence.
    
5. The University will increase the recruitment and support of high-profile faculty capable of conducting influential scholarship and leading major scholarly initiatives. Through the Commonwealth's Endowment Match Program, the University established significant new endowments to stimulate research capacity and productivity. The University must accelerate efforts to develop and fill endowed chairs and professorships with high-impact scholars, including existing faculty members who are positioned well for attaining national prominence.