The organization asked the regents in February for a 6 percent increase, which would make faculty compensation competitive with peer institutions, said Jacqueline Hood, president of the Faculty Senate.
UNM's faculty salaries fall 12 percent below its peer institutions, Hood said.
"We're a research institution, and we're competing with others to hire and keep the best," she said. "And to do that, we need to pay them adequately. We can do what a lot of people do, which is talk about the great weather and lifestyle - and that goes a long way for some people - but it won't help us get better than where we are now."
The regents approved a 5 percent increase in faculty pay last year.
Schmidly said he wanted to give faculty the 6 percent increase, but the money was not available.
"I always place faculty salaries as a high priority," Schmidly said. "I would have done it in a minute if I had the funds. But I've been walking around campus and haven't seen a tree that grows money yet."
Schmidly's budget included a $500 increase for part-time faculty.
Part-time faculty members make $2,650 to $10,840 per three-credit hour course, said Raquel Martinez, director of Faculty Contracts and Services Office.
Niame Adele, a part-time instructor in the sociology department, said the increase is helpful, but funding for part-time faculty seems to be a low priority.
"We aren't included on increases for everyone else," she said. "We are paid from left-over funds from sabbaticals and leaves."
Hood said faculty members were prepared for the low raises, but many are still hopeful about the coming years.
"People were hoping for more, but we understand it's been a tight budget year at the Legislature," she said. "We're heartened by the president's plan to grow and restore the faculty."
Schmidly said he wants to create a five- to 10-year plan to reward, restore and grow the faculty.
"Faculty salary issues, in terms of equity, need to be addressed," he said. "I want to move our faculty salaries closer to the average of our peers and reward faculty so we don't fall behind our peers, and then I want to grow our faculty to the extent we can."
