The Badger Herald

A Wisconsin state representative accused the University of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents of insulting Wisconsin taxpayers when it increased the salary ranges for 13 top-level positions in the UW System Friday.

In a statement, Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, the chair of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee, called the regents’ salary hikes, which include the UW-Madison chancellor position, “absolutely immoral and insulting.”

The pay increases come in the wake of UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley’s announcement last year that he will step down from his position in September. As UW begins a nationwide search for his replacement, Wiley’s comparatively low salary had become an issue of concern for some university officials. Wiley currently earns around $327,000, the lowest salary of 11 chancellors in his peer group.

The regents approved a salary range of $370,000 to $452,000 for the UW-Madison chancellor and a range of $360,000 to $440,000 for UW System President Kevin Reilly, effective July 1. It marks salary increase of at least $43,000 for Wiley’s successor and an increase of at least $12,000 for Reilly.

Despite Nass’ outrage, however, Rep. Kim Hixon, D-Whitewater said the numbers must be put into perspective.

“To the normal person, it does sound like a lot of money, but when you look at peer institutions, Wisconsin is a bit behind,” said Hixon, who is also a communications professor at UW-Whitewater. “Some private institutions are paying quite a bit more than what [Reilly] will make. If we are going to have this high quality of an institution, we are going to have to invest in it.”

According to Nass, though, Wisconsin taxpayers are losing their jobs and homes, and cannot afford the increased cost.

“I do think that [Nass] has a point in terms of the overspending,” Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said. “It’s inappropriate, especially in a time when we have a budget deficit as large as we do.”

Suder said the UW System compares itself to the highest salary ranges in their peer class because they want to “hoodwink people into thinking they need more” then they already get.

“This is a game that the UW System executives play,” Suder said. “They need to come to my neck of the woods where the average salary is $38,000 and see what it’s like.”

Though the Legislature cannot limit how much the Board of Regents approves for executives’ salaries, they can affect how much funding the system gets from the state.

“There are a lot of people that roll their eyes at the salary range adjustments that are coming at a time when the Gov. Doyle said in the State of the State address that we are facing a large deficit and a nationwide recession,” Suder said.

Suder said if there is a budget repair group set up to address budget spending, the UW System will most likely be the first place they look to cut funding.

Hixon said he cannot speak for what the Legislature will do about the adjustments, but the budget the Republican Party set forth in the Assembly aimed to slash university spending severely.

“I would hope that the regents at some time will take a really hard look at the faculty salaries,” Hixon said. “We are losing faculty to other states in my department. We have already lost five faculty members of about 20, and four of them are leaving for more money.”