Master Plan October 2011 - Pacific Lutheran University

COMMUNITY BENEFITS
PLU acts as a host for the College Bound program run by the Metropolitan Development Council
for pre-college students in the Franklin Pierce and Bethel school districts. Every day, College
Bound works with over 180 students in the surrounding community. 180 students are on campus
during their summer program and on average about 10 students participate in activities on
PLU’s campus per week during the school year.
Both programs have offices at PLU and run after school, Saturday and summer programs on
campus. Though PLU provides “free” space, both programs are dependent on external funding
sources for some of their operating funds. If funding is available, each program will expand to
meet the growing need for pre-college programs.
MESA is located in the Morken Center and College Bound is located in East Campus. The
programs use space in Olson Auditorium, Rieke Science Center and several other buildings.
Renovation of these buildings and construction of new athletic facilities will be beneficial to both
programs. MESA has had offices on the PLU campus for over 20 years and College Bound for 15
years.
CAMPUS EMPLOYMENT & PAYROLL
The university employs about 900 people, nearly all of whom have an excellent benefits package
including medical, dental, tuition remission and retirement benefits. Most faculty members are
recruited nationally, but many administrators and nearly all staff are recruited locally. During
fiscal year (FY) 2010 the gross payroll was $41.4 million, with over 70% of that paid to Pierce
County residents.
The number of employees is directly tied to the student enrollment. Should PLU increase
enrollment, the number of employees is also likely to increase. PLU routinely provides cost of
living adjustments to salaries, so it is likely the total payroll will continue to increase even if the
workforce remains constant.
November 2011
Pacific Lutheran University MIMP
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