Along with a warm welcome to students and faculty returning to Chico State, President Paul Zingg offered another bright bit of news to members of the campus community during his fall convocation.

In his fall convocation address, Zingg briefly reiterated commitments made in his July presidential message to the faculty. The commitments included an additional 100 tenure-track faculty positions over the next three years, 37 of which were in attendance for the convocation, raising the salaries of 13 percent of lecturers and an increase to salaries to 38 newly-tenured and promoted faculty.

“The heart of the university’s reputation is it’s academic reputation,” said Zingg. “And, the foundation of the university’s academic reputation is its faculty.”

Zingg also announced a $14 million dollar initiative to further support the faculty and staff at the university. Goals of the initiative are to increase training for faculty, startup funds to continue to hire new staff, renovate lab spaces and modernize technology and equipment throughout the campus.

Zingg said the program will roll out over a period of years and the funding for the initiative will come from a patchwork of sources including the university’s reserve funding, and revenues from enrollment of international students and private fundraising.

“There is no clearer way to pass this test than investing in the renewal and support of our faculty and the staff who support them and our students,” he said. “There is no more important issue that I expect you to hold me accountable. And which I will hold the provost and the deans accountable.”

David McVicker can be reached at [email protected] or @DavidPMcVicker on Twitter.