CSU pay raises

The California State University system came under scrutiny in several news reports saying top administrators were receiving large pay raises as campus budgets were downsizing.

Since the CSU board of trustees released its annual report on vice presidential salary adjustments and appointments last month, stories have emerged in the San Francisco Chronicle and other news sources criticizing CSU Chancellor Charles Reed for approving pay increases as high as $22,500.

Eight vice presidents on three CSU campuses received raises of up to 10 percent earlier this year, according to the salary report.

Many students and faculty members were especially upset because the report was reviewed by the trustees two days before Reed declared the CSU system impacted for the first time in its history.

CSU officials say the salary issue was reported out of context.

Some news sources made it seem the increases were approved contemporaneously with the CSU budget cuts, but the report given to the trustees only summary the pay given in the past year, said Teresa Ruiz, a media relations expert for the CSU, in an e-mail. Many of the increases were approved at the campus level.

“It is also worth noting that some of those adjustments were retro-active from the 2007-2008 year,” Ruiz said, adding that some of the increases were to reflect changes in duties and new appointments.

Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander also comment on the articles.

“This is nonsense being spread around by one very poor reporter,” Alexander said. “[The chancellor] did have to hire three new people to replace his VP of human resources, finance and administration, and development and university relations. These were positions already in place but the people retired.”

Administrators, however, have not been the only ones receiving pay raises. According to Ruiz, the CSU faculty’s July 2008 paychecks reflected a 2-percent general salary increase. The CSU also plans to implement a $7-million merit-pay program for full-time professors that could potentially increase their pay between 2.5 and 3.5 percent.

Officials have not yet discussed the need for pay freezes or increased lay-offs, and Alexander said he will protect faculty when he can.

“We will work to protect as many jobs as possible. However, we still have no idea what the January budget will contain,” Alexander said.

California Faculty Association’s statewide associate vice president and a CSULB English lecturer, Elizabeth Hoffman, did not wish to comment on the pay raises given to some of the vice presidents.

“In a time when we’re talking about dropping classes, we need to look carefully at every dollar that is being spent,” Hoffman said, emphasizing that each university community needs to join forces in order to fight the budget cuts.

Hoffman said, “The faculty, students and administration need to work together to get the resources needed [for the CSU].”