As the University of Wisconsin continues to be ranked one of
the universities with the lowest chancellor salaries within its peer class, the
topic of subsidized stipends from donors has increasingly become a relevant
topic for the Board of Regents.

UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee are currently the only two
campuses whose foundations offer their chancellors additional stipends. But
Board of Regents officials said they are looking into subsidizing the salaries
for other chancellors, according to Charles Pruitt, UW Board of Regents vice
president.

According to UW System spokesperson David Giroux, UW-Madison
Chancellor John Wiley and UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Carlos Santiago earn extra
stipends from their school’s foundation for their extra work raising money for
fundraising campaigns.

The pay stipends Wiley and Santiago receive were written
into their offer letters when they were hired as chancellors in an agreement
with the foundations “to provide major support for fundraising
campaigns,” Giroux said.

“They came into the system when the expectations for
chancellors to be this involved in fundraising was not part of their job,”
Giroux said.

The Board of Regents received an opinion when Wiley was
hired from then-Attorney General Jim Doyle that said the foundation could give
Wiley additional money for performing duties beyond the job description,
according to Pruitt.

“It is above and beyond the normal and customary
responsibilities,” Pruitt said.

Giroux also said the UW System is “very much interested
in finding an appropriate way of leveraging both private and public ways to
fund our chancellors.”

The regents readjust the salary ranges of chancellors in the
UW System each year to be 10 percent below that of the median salary in the
peer group, Pruitt said. Adding a stipend from a foundation would not bring the
chancellor’s salary up to the median level, but it would increase the amount of
compensation they are receiving, he added.

Pruitt said the board is looking into offering this to other
chancellors, but it needs to be done “on a case-by-case basis.” He
said it is very important for the requirements and expectations of the
chancellor to be clearly defined.

“We are particularly interested in increasing
chancellors’ compensations,” Pruitt said. “This isn’t the magic that
is going to solve all of our problems, though.”