In its Oct. 16 editorial, the Sun Journal charged the University of Maine System as acting “with total disregard for the reality most citizens live in.” It went on to decry “steady and opulent salary increases” for faculty and staff.

Those are very serious charges. They are also completely false. The facts provide a different picture.

Editorial claim: Compensation increased 150 percent. Reality: Total university salaries increased 17 percent from 2003 to 2010.

Inflation during this period was 21 percent, while the median Maine family income increased by 30 percent during that period. A more appropriate conclusion: “University employees lose ground to inflation; average Maine households do nearly twice as well.”

More than $150 million of the system’s budget comes from grants and contracts obtained by faculty. The editorial showed a misunderstanding of grants. A grant is a very competitive contract to perform work. The money must be used for the purpose it is given; it cannot be diverted to support the running of the universities. Those competitive grants provide state-of-the-art instrumentation, opportunities for students to work on cutting-edge problems and high-quality jobs. That research, and our highly qualified people, serve as the nucleus for economic growth.

Editorial claim: Enrollment is shooting downward. Reality: Since 2006, the number of full-time-equivalent students has decreased by about 3 percent while the number of full-time employees decreased by 7 percent, with clerical workers and faculty taking most of the hit. The decrease in student numbers follows the temporary, declining demographics of typical college-age students.

Nearly 4,000 UMS students are from out of state, bringing their talents, and dollars, into the state.

Tuition increases are a serious concern. The editorial neglected to point out that state appropriations have not only failed to keep up with inflation but have, at times, decreased. Current appropriation, before the latest in a long line of rescissions, is only about 6 percent larger than in 2001. In constant dollars, that represents a loss of nearly 20 percent, due to inflation.

The editorial is right that salaries do bear careful scrutiny, but not for the reasons claimed.

A May 2011 university report showed salaries at six of the seven campuses are significantly below national averages; most are more than 20 percent below average, with one campus at average. The editorial, and the response from some members of the board of trustees, ignored the inequity and the uncompetitive salaries.

The editorial could have looked at the important role the university plays in the state, the state economy and the future of Maine. Instead, it chose, as has become fashionable, to attack the faculty and staff for earning salaries that inadequately reflect the contributions they make to the university and the state.

Jim McClymer, Orono

Editor’s note: Jim McClymer is a faculty member at the University of Maine and is vice president of AFUM, the faculty union. The Oct. 16 editorial cited a recent study by the Maine Heritage Policy Center. To view that study, go to: http://www.mainepolicy.org/category/education/.