Regents approve 4 percent presidential salary increases

UPDATE: State regents struggled with the idea of awarding raises to the university presidents this year, the board president said, but in the end they decided boosting the leaders' salaries sends the right message.

The presidents of Iowa's three regent universities and two other regent institution executives will get 4 percent increases to their base pay for 2011-12, approved unanimously by the state Board of Regents Thursday during a meeting in Cedar Falls.

“We believe it sends the right message that we do have really, really strong leadership,” Regents President Craig Lang of Brooklyn said.

The board spent Wednesday in closed session evaluating the university presidents and superintendents of the two special schools overseen by the regents. The board considered the slumping economy, Iowa's unemployment rate and the financial environment in discussing the pay raises, Lang said. In the end, they decided salary increases reflect the good job the presidents have done in finding efficiencies and cutting costs in the face of steep state budget cuts while they compete for more private and outside dollars to support the schools. He also pointed to increases in enrollment and student retention at the universities. Lang noted the pay of the three presidents ranks low when compared to leaders at peer schools.

Danny Homan, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 61, said in a statement he was confused by the 4 percent pay raises for the university presidents. AFSCME Council 61 has always stood for fair compensation for state employees, Homan said, but just this week, Gov. Terry Branstad's staff criticized AFSCME-covered employees' 2 percent raise on July 1 and 1 percent raise on Jan. 1.

“I would like to know how the governor feels about these raises” for the presidents, Homan said. “Why is he so opposed to modest raises for his middle class employees but silent on the raises that are given to administrators?”

Branstad Spokesman Tim Albrecht said in an e-mail “the governor has full confidence in the board of regents to make decisions in the best interests of those institutions and the students they serve.”

University of Iowa President Sally Mason's pay will rise to $483,600 in 2011-12. Iowa State University's President Gregory Geoffroy will see his pay increase to $440,249, while University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen's salary will increase to $332,800.

Allen said he told the regents during his evaluation he requested no pay raise, and he said Thursday his 4 percent pay increase will go back to UNI somehow, possibly through an endowed fund for student scholarships that he and his wife started.

Mason and Allen also saw increases to their deferred compensation packages. Geoffroy did not get an increase in deferred compensation; he has announced he is stepping down as ISU's president next summer and a search is underway for his replacement.

Mason and Allen have current deferred compensation packages - designed to award longevity - that mature and expire at the end of Fiscal Year 2012. New five-year packages were approved Thursday. Mason will receive an additional $25,000 per year in deferred compensation, for a total of $150,000 in deferred pay per year, for five years beginning in FY 2012. Allen will get an additional $20,000 each year in deferred compensation, for a total of $70,000 in deferred pay per year, for five years beginning in FY 2012. The executives receive the money if they are still in their jobs at the end of the specified time period.

Regents Executive Director Bob Donley also received a 4 percent pay increase for this year, to $153,816. Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School Superintendent Patrick Clancy received a 4 percent base pay increase, to $138,580. Iowa School for the Deaf Superintendent Jeanne Prickett received no change to her base salary of $135,674.

The increases for 2011-12 are compared to the 3.3 percent pay raise that Mason received last year, her first bump in pay since joining the UI in 2007. Geoffroy and Allen declined increases to their base salaries last year, though all three presidents last year saw increases in deferred compensation. The presidents did not receive salary increases in 2009.