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Wiley to donate pay raises

After one of the more tumultuous years in recent memory at the University of Wisconsin, Chancellor John Wiley said this summer he will donate any salary raises he receives for the rest of his tenure back to the university.

Wiley, in an interview with The Badger Herald, said he made the decision because he feels salary inflation has grown out of control across the country and, coupled with what some taxpayers considered poor mismanagement over the past year, did not think it was appropriate for him to keep any raises.

As of press time it is not clear exactly how much of a raise Wiley will be turning back, but his salary for the 2005-2006 academic year was $251,043, in addition to the $55,000 he received from the UW Foundation.

The money UW saves with the gesture may be of secondary importance, however, as Wiley called his decision more symbolic than anything else.

"The university has been — and I have been — under criticism over the last year," he said. "I just didn't want people saying, 'Wiley, why didn't you [return the money]?'"

But despite the public and legislative outcry after executive salary increases were approved this past February, Board of Regents President David Walsh insisted UW System administrators are not overpaid, calling it "undisputed" that Wisconsin pays its university administrators less than its peers.

Still, Walsh said he was impressed but not surprised with Wiley's decision.

"It is the kind of person he is," Walsh said. "I think it reflects his commitment to the university."

State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, joined Walsh in justifying Wiley's salary increase, especially when viewed in the context of even higher salaries at some of UW's peer public institutions.

Black added there are some Wisconsin legislators that are "bound and determined" to taint UW's reputation, but said he admires Wiley for his efforts to counteract those attempts.

"I applaud him," Black said. "I don't think he was compelled to do it, but I think it shows his devotion to the university and that he is sensitive to the fact that the university is in a public relations battle right now."

And even Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, oftentimes a vocal critic of both Wiley and the UW System, commended the UW-Madison chancellor for his gesture, even if he said it was the result of him feeling pressure from his "umpteen scandals and missteps" over the past couple of years.

"Maybe this is a signal that the UW is finally getting it," Suder said. "We need to focus less on administrators' salaries and more on students and curriculum."

In a bet of a technicality, Wiley noted his salary will technically increase, but in turn he will donate that money back to the university. While he said he considered refusing any raises up front, he feels this move puts less pressure on chancellors at other UW schools to do the same.