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SALT LAKE CITY — The first of four salary increases for Utah's college presidents came into effect July 1, raising the pay of some of higher education's top administrators by as much as 24 percent. The Board of Regents said it is necessary to remain competitive in the national market, but some critics think it reflects a wrong approach to higher education.

On May 17, the Board of Regents agreed to a new plan that would bring salaries for college and university presidents in line with compensation at similar institutions in the nation. According to Utah Higher Education spokesperson Pamela Silberman, the Regents have taken a look at presidential salary over the last several years and determined it is too low. So low that some presidents have left for better prospects across state lines.

“As has been pretty well publicized, (SUU President Michael Benson) is going to be doubling his salary in Kentucky,” she said. “Michael Young left Utah and went to Washington and received a huge bump in salary.”

Salaries for each top executive are now determined by comparison with ten other similar schools throughout the nation. In the case of the University of Utah, comparison schools include the University of Virginia and the University of California – Irvine.

People should be compensated appropriately for the level of responsibility of a large institution that we have like the U. or USU. That's a big job. –Pamela Silberman

In four increases over four years, each president's salary will be brought in line with to the median salary of those ten similar schools' top posts.

For example, UVU President Matthew Holland's salary, which saw the biggest jump this year, went from $194,930 to $241,295, or 15 percent below the median of UVU's sister schools. Next year it will raise to 10 percent below, followed by 5 percent and so on.

The next highest increase will be Dixie State University's President Stephen Nadauld. His salray will jump from $161,588 to $193,375, or just about 20 percent.

“People should be compensated appropriately for the level of responsibility of a large institution that we have like the U. or USU,” Silberman said. “That's a big job.”

Silberman also said that while raises are tied to the median, salaries would not go down if the median went down as well.

“I don't know that we would decrease anybody's salary, but they may not receive any increase,” she said.

Not everyone is happy about the change, though. Dr. David Keller, Professor of Philosophy at UVU, said the Regents are using a corporate business model for higher education and treating presidents like CEOs. Keller is a founding member of the UVU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a group which says it seeks to protect faculty, academic freedom and shared governance.

“Just because other states are making the error of using the business model in higher (education) doesn't mean that Utah is justified in making the same error,” he said.

Given that UVU remains the largest-growing institution in Utah and the least-funded per student, how can one justify a pay raise. Given the students who take on crippling debts equal to President Holland's pay increase just to get in the door, how does one justify a pay raise? –Chris Manor

Keller would rather see that money spent on more full-time professors.

UVU student Chris Manor said the increased compensation was unjustifiable, pointing out that student loan interest rates doubled on the same day the pay raise kicked in. The Board of Regents also approved a five percent tuition increase in March.

“Given that UVU remains the largest-growing institution in Utah and the least-funded per student, how can one justify a pay raise,” Manor said. “Given the students who take on crippling debts equal to President Holland's pay increase just to get in the door, how does one justify a pay raise?”

Silberman said the new plan reflects the work, skill and responsibility of a presidential appointment, calling the post a 24-hour a day job. “While the salary seems incredibly high compared to what the average person makes, it's not out of line with what people with comparable responsibilities make,” she said.

Manor, who said he has met Holland on several occasions, nevertheless said he thinks the current system is a problem, and said that any president who felt like leaving the state for higher pay should be able to do so.

“We don't have to hold our educational system hostage to a bunch of executives who are willing to play for the highest bidder,” Manor said. “If this was a case of a truly just system, executive staff would be making as much as the lowest-paid janitors.”

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