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July 1, 1998 |
Contact: Peter D. Fox |
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(608) 262-6448 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Regents Approve Salary Increases for 35 UW Executives;
Action Follows Legislative Support for New Pay Ranges
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- MADISON — Concluding an analysis and evaluation process lasting more than nine months, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents on Tuesday approved salary increases for 35 UW executives, including UW System President Katharine C. Lyall.
- The action follows completion of a UW System senior executive salary study prepared by the state Department of Employment Relations (DER) at the request of Gov. Tommy G. Thompson and unanimous approval June 17 of a new executive salary schedule by the Legislature's Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JOCER).
- In May the Legislature approved new salary groups for UW executives which directed that new pay ranges be recommended by DER and approved by JOCER.
- In submitting the DER analysis to the Governor last January, DER Secretary Jon Litscher noted that Wisconsin's university system is at a disadvantage nationally in recruiting and retaining its top leaders.
- "The information gathered indicates that salaries for senior executives at the UW, on average, lag the median salaries of the peer institutions, placing the University at a disadvantage in recruiting and, in limited cases, retaining senior executives," Litscher reported to the Governor.
- Specifically, the DER study noted that 1997-98 UW System senior executive salaries trailed peer salaries by an average of 20 percent, from a low of 13 percent to as much as 59 percent. Regent policy calls for the mid-point of the senior executive salary range to be set at 95 percent of the average paid by comparable universities across the country. "Our review concludes that current statutory language has hindered the UW System in being competitive with the market for salaries for executive positions," Litscher reported.
- Regent President San W. Orr, Jr. said the university and, ultimately, the state will benefit from the support given by Gov. Thompson, DER Secretary Litscher and the Legislature for executive salary adjustments.
- "Wisconsin, with a population of about 5 million citizens, enjoys a public university system that rivals California, Illinois, New York and Texas," Orr noted. "If we wish to compete in this quality arena — and we must, if Wisconsin's economy is to continue growing — then we must attract the top educational leadership talent to maintain educational quality. It is as simple as that."
- Orr further noted that the UW System's administrative costs are the lowest in the nation — 5.8 percent of its overall budget — compared with an average of 10.8 percent for the other major public university systems in the U.S. "The UW System has some of the best academic leadership in the country," Orr said. "Clearly, it is our goal to continue to recruit the best and be among the top-managed university systems in the nation."
- Salaries approved Tuesday will be funded through existing pay plan dollars and budget reallocations; tuition will remain unaffected by the increases. The following adjustments were approved:
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Office |
Current
salary |
New
salary |
BOR range
midpoint |
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President |
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Katharine C. Lyall |
$153,654 |
181,527 |
244,038 |
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Chancellors |
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David Ward (MSN) |
140,323 |
165,025 |
226,252 |
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John Schroeder (MIL) |
134,800 |
134,800 |
172,315 |
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Nancy Zimpher (MIL)
(8/1/98) |
|
175,000 |
172,315 |
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Marjorie Smelstor
(Interim) |
108,000 |
108,000 |
136,896 |
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Donald Mash
(8/1/98) |
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135,000 |
136,896 |
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Mark Perkins (GBY) |
118,000 |
129,800 |
136,896 |
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Judith Kuipers (LAC) |
122,500 |
134,750 |
136,896 |
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John Kerrigan (OSH) |
122,500 |
134,750 |
136,896 |
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John Ostheimer (PKS)
(Interim) |
108,000 |
108,000 |
136,896 |
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John Keating (PKS)
(7/1/98) |
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125,500 |
136,896 |
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David Markee (PLT) |
116,500 |
128,000 |
136,896 |
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Gary Thibodeau (RVF) |
128,000 |
140,800 |
136,896 |
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Thomas George (STP) |
116,500 |
128,000 |
136,896 |
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Charles Sorensen (STO) |
126,000 |
138,600 |
136,896 |
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Julius Erlenbach (SUP) |
116,500 |
128,000 |
136,896 |
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W. Gaylon Greenhill (WTW) |
122,500 |
134,750 |
136,896 |
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William Messner (COLLEGES) |
115,600 |
126,000 |
136,896 |
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Albert Beaver (EXTENSION)
(Interim) |
115,600 |
126,000 |
136,896 |
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Vice Chancellors |
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John Wiley (MSN) |
139,000 |
152,900 |
167,466 |
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Kenneth Watters (MIL) |
121,300 |
144,932 |
144,932 |
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Thomas Miller (EAU)
(Interim) |
100,500 |
105,500 |
111,618 |
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Howard Cohen (GBY) |
104,000 |
109,450 |
111,618 |
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Leo Lambert (LAC) |
103,500 |
108,850 |
111,618 |
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Vicki Lord Larson (OSH) |
105,000 |
110,600 |
111,618 |
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John Ostheimer (PKS)
(Return 7/1/98) |
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107,050 |
111,618 |
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Ralph Curtis (PLT)
(Interim through 6/30/98) |
104,000 |
104,000 |
111,618 |
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Carol Sue Butts (PLT)
(7/1/98) |
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106,500 |
111,618 |
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Robert Milam (RVF) |
105,000 |
110,600 |
111,618 |
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William Meyer (STP) |
102,000 |
107,350 |
111,618 |
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Robert Sedlak (STO)
(Acting 3/1/98) |
100,500 |
105,350 |
111,618 |
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Charles Schelin (SUP) |
100,500 |
106,500 |
111,618 |
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Larry Davis (WTW)
(Interim through 6/30/98) |
100,500 |
100,500 |
111,618 |
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David Prior (WTW)
(7/1/98) |
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106,500 |
111,618 |
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Marie Wunsch (COLLEGES) |
99,300 |
104,000 |
111,618 |
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Kevin Reilly (EXTENSION) |
107,000 |
112,700 |
111,618 |
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Vice Presidents |
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David J. Ward
(Senior vice president for academic affairs) |
130,000 |
145,000 |
142,900 |
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David Olien
(Interim senior vice president for administration) |
124,800 |
140,000 |
142,900 |
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Marcia Bromberg
(Vice president fo finance) |
112,100 |
118,000 |
120,220 |
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Margaret Lewis
(Acting vice president for university relations) |
92,000 |
96,000 |
120,000 |
- Orr said these adjustments generally reposition individuals properly within the new ranges. However, Orr said, the Regents have asked Secretary Litscher to give further consideration to a few, including UW System President Lyall, UW-Madison Chancellor Ward and UW-Madison Vice Chancellor Wiley — to ensure these positions are competitive within the markets identified in the DER study.
- "The duties of a university chancellor are more complicated today than even a few years ago and increasingly require a wide range of skills," Orr said. "It is no longer sufficient that chancellors be excellent scholars and administrators. Now they must be fund-raisers, visible ambassadors to their home communities, the state and the world, and have the skill to manage complicated budgets drawn from a variety of public- and private-sector sources."
- Discussion of the few selected additional adjustments among the Regents and with the DER secretary is expected soon, Orr said. He emphasized that even with the potential benefit of selected additional increases, these proposed adjustments would be within the salary ranges established by JOCER.
- "The Board of Regents has long struggled in recent years with inequities created in the previous UW System executive salary schedule," Orr said. "We are appreciative of the support from the Legislature, the Joint Committee on Employment Relations, Secretary Litscher and Governor Thompson for streamlining the executive salary structure and bringing it closer to the competitive market," Orr said.
- # # #
 [UW-Eau Claire Administrative Offices] [UW-Eau Claire News Bureau]
- Janice B. Wisner
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 218
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu
- Updated: July 8, 1998
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