Initial reactions are mixed.
Jim Dole, chair of the biology department, said about 70 to 80 percent of his 43 biology professors applied for merit awards. But he doesn't feel like the teachers applied for the merit pay to support the California Faculty Union's strike plan. Professors filled out their faculty activity reports because they need higher salaries, Dole said. That's the only way they can get pay raises. The union hopes that strategy would lead faculty who didn't receive an award to file grievances.