MADISON — The Executive Committee of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, meeting via teleconference, today approved annual salary levels for the chancellors, vice chancellors and senior officers of the UW System. Pay plan increases are retroactive to July 1, 2001 under a plan approved in October by the legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations.
According to Regent President Jay L. Smith, the salary increases are funded by existing pay plan dollars as well as money reallocated from the base budget. “There will be no increase in tuition or tax dollars to provide these salaries,” said Smith.
The new salaries are the first to be set utilizing management flexibility granted to the board by the legislature and governor in the 2001-03 biennial budget. By statute, salary range authority for 20 specific senior level positions was shifted to the board from the Department of Employment Relations and the Joint Committee on Employment Relations.
This change is intended to ensure that the UW System can attract and retain top executive talent at a time when the demands placed on these leaders, such as private fundraising, involvement in local and regional economic development, and greater accountability reporting, are increasing. Covered by the change are all 15 chancellors, the vice chancellors at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, the two System senior vice presidents, and the System president.
Today’s actions bring executive salaries more in line with the competitive national market for university leadership, said Smith. Even so, “our assigned salaries fall below the midpoint of our very conservative ranges. After addressing the five most serious cases, the total increase for all other UW executives is 3.2%, the same as the average increase for faculty and academic staff.”
Smith said the president should rightly be the highest paid senior executive in the UW System, noting “the president manages a complex organization with an annual budget in excess of $3 billion, more than the revenues of the Kohler Company, for example. The board’s actions correct other discrepancies,” he said, “including bringing all individuals at least to the minimum of their range and compensating for several salaries that were frozen for two years or more.”
The board’s longstanding policy is that System leaders should be paid, whenever possible, within an established salary range tied to peer data. Comparative peer data show other public universities paid an average of $302,000 or more last year to system and research university presidents, and an average of $170,000 to comprehensive university presidents, said Smith.
The following list reflects the actions taken today by the board:
| Name | Title | Institution | 2001-02 Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katharine Lyall | President | UW System | $299,000 |
| Cora Marrett | Senior V.P. | UW System | $220,000 |
| David Olien | Senior V.P. | UW System | $199,000 |
| John Wiley | Chancellor | UW-Madison | $298,250 |
| Nancy Zimpher | Chancellor | UW-Milwaukee | $215,000 |
| Donald Mash | Chancellor | UW-Eau Claire | $168,000 |
| Bruce Shepard | Chancellor | UW-Green Bay | $152,070 |
| Douglas Hastad | Chancellor | UW-La Crosse | $153,000 |
| Richard Wells | Chancellor | UW-Oshkosh | $153,000 |
| John Keating | Chancellor | UW-Parkside | $153,000 |
| David Markee | Chancellor | UW-Platteville | $155,500 |
| Ann Lydecker | Chancellor | UW-River Falls | $153,000 |
| Thomas George | Chancellor | UW-Stevens Point | $155,500 |
| Charles Sorensen | Chancellor | UW-Stout | $168,000 |
| Julius Erlenbach | Chancellor | UW-Superior | $154,000 |
| John Miller | Chancellor | UW-Whitewater | $153,000 |
| William Messner | Chancellor | UW Colleges | $155,000 |
| Kevin Reilly | Chancellor | UW Extension | $155,000 |
| Peter Spear | V. Chancellor | UW-Madison | $220,000 |
| John Wanat | V. Chancellor | UW-Milwaukee | $180,000 |
| Other Executives | |||
| Deborah Durcan | V. President | UW System | $134,500 |
| Linda Weimer | V. President | UW System | $137,000 |
| Ronald Satz | V. Chancellor | UW-Eau Claire | $126,300 |
| Carol Pollis | V. Chancellor | UW-Green Bay | $115,000 |
| Ronald Rada | V. Chancellor | UW-La Crosse | $113,384 |
| Keith Miller | V. Chancellor | UW-Oshkosh | $125,000 |
| Kenneth Watters | V. Chancellor | UW-Parkside | $115,000 |
| Carol Sue Butts | V. Chancellor | UW-Platteville | $124,000 |
| Virginia Coombs | V. Chancellor | UW-River Falls | $122,000 |
| William Meyer | V. Chancellor | UW-Stevens Point | $124,000 |
| Robert Sedlak | V. Chancellor | UW-Stout | $126,300 |
| Charles Schelin | V. Chancellor | UW-Superior | $124,000 |
| David Prior | V. Chancellor | UW-Whitewater | $124,000 |
| Margaret Cleek | V. Chancellor | UW Colleges | $124,000 |
| Marvin Van Kekerix | V. Chancellor | UW Extension | $127,000 |
Note: John Wiley’s salary includes amounts received from the UW Foundation for personal services rendered outside of his duties as chancellor.
UW System Board of Regents Established Salary Ranges, 2001-02
| Position | Minimum | Midpoint | Maximum | 2001-02 Salary as % of Peer Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | $269,072 | $298,969 | $328,866 | 95.0% |
| Senior Vice Presidents | $198,825 | $220,917 | $243,008 | 85.6% to 94.6% |
| Doctoral Chancellors (Madison) | $271,028 | $301,142 | $331,257 | 94.1% |
| Doctoral Chancellors (Milwaukee) | $194,735 | $216,372 | $238,009 | 94.1% |
| Comprehensive Chancellors | $151,343 | $168,159 | $184,974 | 85.9% to 94.9% |
| Doctoral Vice Chancellors (Madison) | $197,402 | $219,336 | $241,270 | 95.3% |
| Doctoral Vice Chancellors (Milwaukee) | $169,193 | $187,992 | $206,791 | 91.0% |
| Vice Presidents | $132,681 | $147,424 | $162,166 | 86.7% to 88.3% |
| Comprehensive Vice Chancellors | $113,384 | $125,982 | $138,580 | 86.7% to 95.8% |
- The ranges set earlier this year by the Board of Regents for each position reflect national market data for peer institutions. The midpoint is set at 95% of the peer median. The minimum is set at 90% of this midpoint, while the maximum is set at 110% of this midpoint.
- The ranges for vice presidents and comprehensive vice chancellors are recommended by the secretary of the Department of Employment Relations and approved by the Joint Committee on Employment Relations.
Comparative Data for UW System President
| Peer Multicampus Systems | 2000-01 CEO Salary |
|---|---|
| University of Texas System | $355,000 |
| University of California System | $349,100 |
| University of Maryland System | $342,317 |
| City University of New York | $250,000 |
| California State University System | $305,340 |
| University of North Carolina System | $299,860 |
| State University System of Florida | $264,600 |
| State University of New York | $250,000 |
| Median Salary: 8 Peer Systems | $302,600 |
Comparative Data for UW-Madison Chancellor
| Peer Universities | 2000-01 CEO Salary |
|---|---|
| University of Minnesota | $335,000 |
| University of Michigan | $326,550 |
| University of Texas-Austin | $311,000 |
| Purdue University | $305,000 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | $304,800 |
| University of California-Berkeley | $304,800 |
| University of Washington | $285,000 |
| Ohio State University | $275,004 |
| University of Illinois-Urbana | $243,860 |
| Indiana University | $230,300 |
| Michigan State University | $216,000 |
| Median Salary: 11 Peer Universities | $304,800 |