The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted to raise salary ranges for senior executive positions Friday.
It is a move, regents hope, that will make the UW System more competitive in attracting and retaining top administrators.
According to Regent Roger Axtell, the revised salary ranges are necessary because in the past five years the UW System has lost quality administrators to "embarrassingly" higher-paying jobs at other universities.
"I don't mean to sound grandiose, but I hope that this day is a watershed day," Axtell said. "We have been treating our people badly. We are losing quality and it's time to change."
The new salary ranges set the minimum salary for non-doctoral UW chancellors at $176,113. The UW-Milwaukee chancellor will make a minimum of $251,507, and the UW-Madison chancellor will make a minimum of $307,800.
Shortly after the regents unanimously passed the new ranges Friday, a number of Republican legislators criticized the regents' action.
Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, said he is not persuaded by the regents' argument that ranges need to increase in order to compete with administrative salaries at peer universities.
"What concerns me is that [these] pay increases come on the heels of instances of mismanagement out of the UW System," Kanavas said in a phone interview Friday. "It sends the message that no matter how you perform your job, you're still going to get a pay increase."
In a release, Sen. Michael Ellis, R-Neenah, even went as far as to call the salary increases "the most arrogant and insulting proposal" he has heard in years.
It is a reaction likely not entirely surprising to the regents, who spent a considerable amount of time Friday discussing the possible reaction from taxpayers and legislators.
"There's a real feeling that there isn't an understanding among the average person … as to why this is so crucial," Regent Mike Spector said. "My real view is that perhaps we're [still] not high enough, that this is a step forward. And I don't see how you're going to truly catch up … without greater public support."
Despite Kanavas and others' concerns about the new salary ranges, Regent President David Walsh said legislative leadership backed the increases when he met with them prior to Friday's vote.
"To a person, I would say they said they understood about the need to be competitive," Walsh said. "The bottom line for us is we have to do our jobs, but we should also recognize that there's valid criticism in a state that treasures low salaries."
Regent Jesus Salas, who in the past has voted against increasing salary ranges, supported Friday's resolution. Salas cited his first-hand experience working on regent search-and-screen committees for new chancellors at UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point and, most recently, UW-Eau Claire, as a reason for his vote.
Regent Peggy Rosenzweig, who chaired the recent search-and-screen committee for a new chancellor at UW-Eau Claire, expressed concern that the discussion might diminish the quality of the system's current chancellors.
"It was a wonderful search, and I don't want whatever [Axtell] said to cast any doubt about the fact that we've got wonderful chancellors that we've recruited," Rosenzweig said.
However, Rosenzweig added, their successful recruiting efforts should be attributed to the system's reputation rather than its compensation abilities.
"We're kind of at a pivotal moment now," she said. "The salaries are such that … it will hamper our searches in the future unless we take a strong hand at this."
In closed session, the regents appointed Brian Levin-Stankevich as chancellor of UW-Eau Claire at a salary of $180,000. Levin-Stankevich currently serves as interim president at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash., and will take office in Eau Claire by July 1.
