Recent pay raises of UW System executives approved by the UW System Board of Regents Nov. 19 have drawn criticism from politicians around the state.
UW System President Katharine Lyall received the largest pay increase, from $207,809 for 2000-'01 to $299,000 for 2001-'02. The remaining increases averaged at 2.3 percent.
\It's very much of a concern based on the fiscal situation that the state is in,"" said Rep. Steve Freese, R-Dodgeville. ""I think a lot of us are worried at what direction we're going. When we establish these huge raises, it really sends the wrong message to the rest of state government.""
Rep. John Gard, R-Peshtigo, called the raises ""ill advised and irresponsible,"" and Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, termed them ""absolutely outrageous,"" according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The concern regarding the raises stems from a projected large state budget deficit.
According to Board of Regents President Jay Smith, no additional tuition or tax dollars will be needed to fund the raises decided upon by the board, a privilege the state gave it last summer. There can now be no appeals of the raises.
""Timing just was not good in this situation,"" Freese said. ""They should have waited till we knew where we were at the end of the year.""
UW System Vice President of university relations Kevin Boatright said part of the reason certain UW System executives received pay raises was due to their increased role in the development of Wisconsin's economy and the UW System's place in that development.
For example, he said, Lyall is co-chair of the Wisconsin Economic Summit, a two-day event taking place in Milwaukee starting today, addressing the current condition of the state's economy.
""The timing is probably not ideal considering the state of the economy and the state of the world,"" Boatright said. ""But it is also actually a good time to look at how to retain those senior executives. ... What is it worth to the state ... to retain its senior executives in a time of crisis?""
Another justification of the raises offered by Boatright was the fact that compared to the salaries of other state school systems, UW System salaries were relatively low. For example, the head of the University of North Carolina System is paid $299,860 while the head of the University of California System is paid $349,100.
""All that the board did ... was to bring [Lyall] to the midpoint,"" Boatright said.
Freese said he did not doubt the qualifications of the executives, but disagreed that this was the time for salary increases.
""We don't know if the economy is going to be recovering in the midst of a war,"" he said. ""It did not make sense to do it at this point.\
