By Ashley Miller

Members of the Faculty Senate called attention to issues of faculty salary and hiring Wednesday, as well as funding for instructional resources.

Dean of University Libraries Edward Warro said Northeastern’s library resources are diminishing yearly and the particular area of funding is in serious trouble.

“A strong library that provides for the educational needs of students and provides resources for researchers and scholars is absolutely critical if Northeastern is to succeed as a top 100 university,” Warro said.

Warro pointed out that the need for funds to purchase books and other resources should warrant immediate attention. He said there are no funds available in the library’s budget to purchase audio/visual aids or instructional tools.

Cuts have already been made in important areas like library staff, Warro said, but fewer books are still being bought every year because of the lack of funding. He said last year’s funding lasted only two months.

“This year, we really, in fact, have no money to buy new books,” he said. “We cannot buy books.”

Warro also said that the student peer tutoring program is in need of additional funds and argued the program’s importance to students.

“Eighty-eight percent of students polled say it has contributed to their success,” he said.

He said, currently, there are approximately 200 students on the program’s waiting list.

Wesley Marple, a professor of finance and a member of the Committee on Funding Priorities that is working to develop a budget proposal for the university, pointed to a gap in faculty salaries as an issue that he plans to bring to the attention of the committee.

He said that of the original $2.6 million inadequacy, there still remains a $1.6 million shortfall.

“Our needs are obvious; our resources are limited. It’s time for the academic side of the house to move to get the resources it needs,” Marple said.

He also noted a need for more tenure-track faculty to increase the student to faculty ratio of the school.

“The present situation regarding the professoriate is worrisome,” he said. “We need to address this very unfortunate situation we find ourselves in.”

The current student to faculty ratio is 24:1, according to the Office of the Provost, Marple said.

He also said they would like to see a 25 percent increase in tenure and tenure-track faculty, to bring the ratio up to 19:1.

“I think it’s appalling that only 38 percent of the faculty is tenure track,” said chemistry Professor Mary Jo Ondrechen.

Mathematics Professor Samuel Blank said the university needs to focus on specific problem areas in order to meet its goal of reaching the top 100 in U.S. News and World Report’s list of best colleges.

“If our goal is to move up, we should find that component where we rank the lowest and put some of our eggs in that basket,” Blank said. “It seems we’ve found the basket.”