UW administrative salaries below national average

by Jessi Polsky

Wednesday, February 28, 2007 00:00

Despite a reported increase in administrative salaries nationwide this past year, administrators at the University of Wisconsin continue to earn less than their peers around the country.

The median salary of college administrators nationwide increased 4 percent over the past academic year, according to a survey released Monday by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.

Stephen Lund, director of academic personnel for the UW Office of Human Resources, said UW administrators' salaries also rose 4 percent last year, matching the national average.

The increase resulted from a UW System Board of Regents proposal requesting increases "primarily based on market comparisons versus cost of living," Lund said.

However, despite this increase, Lund said UW System deans' salaries are "traditionally below that of their peers."

David Giroux, spokesperson for the UW System, said chancellors' salaries system-wide are low. "Every time we looked at the chancellors' salaries, [we found] they are consistently below the median of that of their peers," Giroux said.

Giroux added administrators in the UW System are paid an average of 8.8 percent less than their peers.

The problem that results, Giroux said, is an outflow of administrative talent from the state of Wisconsin.

Giroux also said it is important to retain quality leaders throughout the UW System, adding that without competent leaders, the UW System will have a hard time drawing the best and brightest students to its universities.

"Chancellors play an incredibly important role in raising money for our campuses, serving as community leaders and addressing local needs," Giroux said.

Budgetary constraints influence salaries as well as the availability of resources at the disposal of UW System administrators.

Giroux said many administrators are faced with the "tedious job of cutting budgets," including individual compensation, benefits and campus resources.

In addition, Lund said UW System administrators seek jobs elsewhere since other universities can potentially offer them more expansive resources than those provided by UW.

"It is not only salary that matters [to faculty], but support for research labs," Lund said.

Darrell Bazzell, UW-Madison vice chancellor of administration, said the UW System has received $5 million from the state over the last year to aid in faculty retention. Twenty-three percent of that money — or approximately $1.15 million — was allocated to the Madison campus, Bazzell added.

Both Bazzell and Giroux said it is important that UW make smart, strategic decisions when distributing this new money. The $5 million was supplied to ensure that faculty members do not leave the UW System to go to better-paying institutions.

"We don't want to become a training ground for anyone else's private or public university," Giroux said.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle recently proposed a plan to increase the amount of money spent on faculty retention to $10 million for next year.

Doyle's new policy would provide administrators with richer benefits than those they are currently receiving.

This policy is set to include domestic partner benefits, which Giroux said are rapidly increasing in value and importance to current and potential UW System administrators.

Giroux said despite low salaries and limited resources, the UW System continues to recruit and retain a high quality level of faculty and administrative staff.

Bazzell said at UW-Madison it could be a challenge to bring in new administrators, and the campus often has to look hard for candidates.

"We don't pay top dollar, but there are other advantages in our system," Bazzell said.