"We want to keep our competitive position. Utah's got a wonderfully high-quality education system and we don't want to lose that," she said. "We need to be constantly attracting faculty and staff to keep our edge."

The Legislature gave $2.5 million in retention funds last year, which were dispersed among the state's institutions. The University of Utah, for example, used roughly $700,000 of its $837,900 allotment to give compensation adjustments to 64 faculty and 35 staff members.

In all, 371 faculty and 113 staff received a portion of the retention funds, according to a USHE report.

Getting more funds for "preemptive strikes" against losing faculty and making counteroffers is critical at the University of Utah, said David Pershing, senior vice president for academic affairs at the U.

Pershing said many faculty are getting offers up to $40,000 above their current annual salary, an amount that's hard to turn down even for faculty not seeking a new job.

Pershing said the U. used about 80 percent of last year's retention funds to increase salaries and kept about 20 percent in reserves to combat counteroffers from other universities.

"This is where somebody is being attacked by another university. This is occurring more often now because the University of Utah is increasing in stature," Pershing said. "I'm fighting off about one a week."

John DeVilbiss, spokesman for Utah State University, said roughly 25 to 50 percent of faculty cite salary as a main reason why they leave the university, he said.

Utah State reported losing 157 faculty over a four-year period, including a dean and vice president who both left for out-of-state positions with higher salaries.

"We feel like the people who come here and work are happy. Nevertheless, there are a lot of temptations out there," DeVilbiss said. "We can't afford to lose these seasoned faculty members. We simply can't."

The "targeted approach" to retention is key to the state's plan, Kendell said, which will reward top performers that are at risk of leaving their positions or are particularly valuable to a university. Much of the funding will go toward faculty who bring grants and research money in tow, Kendell said.

If the state is not able to compete, he said schools will likely pump more money into hiring new faculty.

"You might as well spend a little bit less to keep people than to go and recruit people. If you could retain your very best, that's just smart," he said. "It's a lot easier to hang on to someone than trying to attract someone."

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com