Dear Dean Berkey,
As graduate students in the Department of Mathematics, we are writing to ask you to remove the current disparity between the salaries of new and continuing TFs. We strongly believe that _all_ TFs should receive a yearly stipend of $11500 and that this salary should increase each year to keep pace with inflation.
TFs provide an invaluable service to the university. We take our jobs very seriously, striving to improve our skills so that students learn more and benefit from our experience. Continuing TFs are especially important as mentors for the new TFs, helping them "learn the ropes." Many TFs go out of their way by helping students individually and holding review sessions before exams. We do this as a service to BU and feel that this extra effort is being taken for granted. Raising new TF salaries and ignoring those with more experience is grossly unjust and sends the message that BU does not care about its graduate students once they have enrolled.
If the TFs cannot expect an improvement in their stipend, there is no incentive for them to expend any more than the minimum effort necessary in their teaching. The policy of inequality in pay is effectively an exploitation of the continuing TFs lack of mobility. Moreover, it is also a poor attempt to provide an attractive offer to prospective students. Comparable mathematics programs in the Boston area offer similar or higher stipends, but for only a fraction of the duties.
The selective increase in TF salaries undermines the educational contributions of teaching fellows, deeply offends the graduate students and damages the quality of instruction at BU.
We ask that you please reconsider this policy and we look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
<signed by 36 graduate students from the Math Department>