By Gregory Childress

gchildress@heraldsun; 419-6645

CHAPEL HILL -- Better benefits and pay to recruit and retain top faculty has been a recurring theme at UNC Chapel Hill for as long as most folks at the university -- and those serving in the state Legislature -- can remember.

The thinking among university officials pushing for better pay and benefits say they are essential in recruiting the best and brightest professors and keeping top professors already working at the university.

So far, so good for UNC.

A report on the university's "retention battles" that spans eight years shows that UNC has been coming out on top.

For the 2008-09 academic year to date, for example, UNC's success rate for retaining faculty who received outside employment offers, and to whom counteroffers were made, was 58 percent.

The university made counteroffers to 65 of the 120 faculty member who received job offers. Of those who received counteroffers, 38 stayed and 27 left. Four offers are pending.

That's a big improvement over the 2002-03 academic year that saw more than 50 faculty members -- compared to the 22 or so who stayed -- leaving UNC for presumably greener pastures. It was the only stretch during the eight-year span that UNC came up short.

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp said there are several reasons why UNC is enjoying success keeping its best and brightest, with an important one being the current financial crisis.

"In this economy, it's a little bit easier to retain faculty," Thorp said Wednesday.

In addition, Thorp cited two generous budget years before the crisis, which allowed the university to increase faculty pay. He said the university's deans have also worked hard to keep good people on board.

Thorp said he thinks UNC is in a position to keep winning the retention battles because the university's effort to do so now has the proper momentum.