The University of Wyoming is opting for more nine-month appointments for faculty to save money instead of paying them for a full year, hoping some of them will continue to do research during the summer.

School officials say department heads are usually given 12-month appointments to allow for summer administrative duties. Most faculty members are now on a nine-month contract.

Administrators say faculty members can earn extra money by working through the summer on research projects that are funded with grants.

School officials say last year, 665 full-time instructional faculty members had nine-month appointments and 82 had year-long contracts, not including 175 full-time research faculty members.

Aneesa McDonald, information specialist in the office of Academic Affairs, said some post-graduate students with research projects have year-long contracts.

Tami Benham-Deal, interim associate vice president for undergraduate education, said in an email that salaries vary according to the majors.

Michael Pishko, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, said his department is dealing with cutbacks, despite the large amount of research.

“Besides the dean, top administrators and department heads, everyone is on a nine-month contract,” he said.

Benham-Deal said many faculty members work through the summer on research projects, paid by grants and other funding, the Laramie Boomerang reported.

She said faculty members can earn up to 33 percent of their nine-month salary in supplemental pay under university rules.

McDonald said a nine-month appointment could earn the salary of a 12-month faculty member if the grants are big enough.