On the Radar
Regents to discuss chancellor pay raise
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by Associated Press
Monday, February 4, 2008
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin-Madison’s next leader could earn
$42,500 to $125,000 more than Chancellor John Wiley under a plan meant
to attract more candidates for the position. The UW System Board
of Regents will consider increasing the salary ranges of university
chancellors and system executives during its meeting on Thursday and
Friday. In a memo to fellow regents, Board President Mark Bradley
argues the higher ranges are needed to attract top candidates as they
recruit new chancellors at the Madison, Parkside and Whitewater campuses. The
biggest bump would go to the person selected to lead the flagship
UW-Madison, where Wiley has announced he is stepping down in September
after seven years as the campus’ chief executive officer. Some
have worried Wiley’s $327,000 salary, the lowest among his peers and 21
percent below their median, would deter applicants at a time when
executive compensation is quickly rising in higher education. His peers
— leaders at seven public Big 10 universities and schools in
California, Washington and Texas — make an average of $437,000. The
plan would set the pay range for the next chancellor at $370,000 to
$452,000. The actual salary won’t be set until the regents select
Wiley’s successor, perhaps sometime this summer. System President
Kevin Reilly’s $342,000 salary also would rise at that point to reflect
the “hierarchical structure of the system” as required under state law.
He would earn between $360,000 and $440,000 under the plan. The
next chancellors at UW-Whitewater and UW-Parkside and current leaders
at nine other four-year UW campuses would earn $194,000 to $237,000
under the plan. Most chancellors earn near the low end of that range
and about 10 percent below the median of their peers, system figures
show. UW-Whitewater is searching for a replacement for Martha
Saunders, who left last year to become president of the University of
Southern Mississippi. UW-Parkside is looking for a replacement for Jack
Keating, who recently announced he is retiring in August. If
approved by the regents, the plan would not result in immediate pay
increases but would pave the way for raises to be awarded after the
ranges go into effect July 1, said Al Crist, UW System’s associate vice
president of human resources. The salary ranges have not been increased
in two years, he said. “We are only changing these ranges because
of the situation we find ourselves in, wanting to have a successful
recruitment in three cases,” he said. “We feel these ranges will assist
us in that.” UW executives also would receive a 2 percent pay
increase in July and a 1 percent increase in April 2009 along with
faculty and academic staff under a pay plan approved by lawmakers,
Crist said. UW System leaders have argued those raises will not
be enough to retain top professors and researchers and will cause their
salaries to fall farther behind competing schools. Gov. Jim Doyle’s
administration pledged to propose additional increases for them last
year. But Crist said that plan is on hold until the state has a
clearer picture of its budget outlook. A state official has warned the
budget could face a $400 million shortfall because tax collections are
lower than predicted.
