Trent University has pledged to hire more professors as part of a new collective agreement ratified in January for 234 members of Trent University Faculty Association. The contract, ratified by 95 per cent of the membership, also commits Trent to replacement of unanticipated departures of faculty members. The complement workload, according to TUFA president Peter Dawson, was the biggest issue during negotiations. The three-year agreement also calls for changes to the salary grid, increases in the teaching support and professional expense funds, and gains in health benefits. Not addressed during contract talks were salary increases. Salaries are covered under a previously established parity formula, which provided a 6.17 per cent salary increase in July 2002 to all members of the bargaining unit. Salaries for 2003 and 2004 will be determined using average salaries of a 16-unit comparator group in Ontario.