Time not right for 4% more

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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The Iowa Board of Regents unanimously agreed last week that a 4 percent pay raise for Iowa's university presidents sends the right message.

Certainly, the decision indicates that the Regents value the leadership of Sally Mason ($483,600 salary for the 2011-12 school year) at the University of Iowa, Ben Allen ($332,800) at the University of Northern Iowa and Gregory Geoffroy ($440,249) at Iowa State University. And we believe all three presidents have provided effective leadership, making some tough decisions during an era when state aid has declined in actual and real dollars, and the nation's worst economic recession in decades has made maintaining quality even more difficult.

But we're reluctant to endorse increases of the amount the regents approved. Not because the individuals aren't necessarily “worth” that much more. In fact, Mason's 3.3 percent raise last year was her first pay bump since joining the UI in 2007. Geoffroy and Allen declined increases to their base salaries last year, though all three presidents received increases in deferred compensation - extra money that rewards them if they meet expectations and stay on the job. In 2009, no raises were given.

Instead, because of the greatly unsettled economic forces at work, we don't think a 4 percent pay raise is in order this year, and we doubt whether most Iowans think that much is fiscally appropriate this year.

Iowa's universities are still dealing with fewer dollars from the state (5.4 percent less for the current fiscal year that began July 1), while the regents approved another major increase in the tuition rate for students - this time an average of 5 percent more in the base rate. Academic programs have been squeezed or cut, with more reductions likely. Some employees have lost their jobs and others are in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, around the state in the private sector, substantial pay increases are still more the exception than the rule for most companies. Unemployment remains relatively high.

We do understand and recognize that market forces push up the price tag on hiring highly qualified people for the university positions. It's not realistic to expect that our universities can hire such talent without offering competitive compensation. And once you sign on strong leaders, going too long without rewarding them financially is risky and may drive up the cost of a replacement even more.

But in the spirit of weighing everything financial on Iowans' plates, a 4 percent increase for our universities' top leaders sent the wrong message to students and taxpayers. Given the fragility of the nation's economic recovery - which some economists say has stalled out and or may even be sliding back - and its potential effects on our state, the regents should have settled on more modest financial rewards this year.