Editorial: Raises not justified for high-paid UC officials

While $350,000 might seem like a lot of money to the average
student, to the UC Board of Regents it apparently isn’t
nearly enough ““ in November the board will weigh a proposal
to increase salaries of administrators who make at least that much
in a year.

The proposal, discussed at the regents’ bimonthly meeting
in mid-September, will look at raising salaries for UC employees
across the board. But singled out for particular attention are a
group of about 800 employees who make at least $168,000 a year, and
a smaller, elite group (mostly chancellors) who make over
$350,000.

The move stems from a report which found that UC salaries lag
behind those at comparative institutions by as much as 15 to 20
percent ““ though the same report found the UC’s
benefits system is considerably better than those at said
institutions.

The regents ““ with trademark regental short-sightedness
““ have expressed concern that without salary increases, the
UC won’t be able to compete with other schools for top
leaders, especially when it comes time to fill the UCLA
chancellorship in June.

Never mind the fact that to suggest raising the salaries of
people who already make over $350,000 a year ““ at a time when
students are paying record amounts for a UC education and employees
in the dining halls are struggling to make a living wage ““
effectively amounts to a slap in the face to students and
workers.

The most suspect part of the proposal is that no one has
presented any hard evidence to prove lagging salaries are actually
hurting the UC. The system might be behind other public
universities when it comes to raw salaries for top-tier
administrators, but it’s a considerable leap of faith to
assume raising salaries is the best way to ensure the UC stays
competitive.

In the last year, the UC has managed to snag top administrators
from big-name universities. Of the four UC chancellors appointed in
the last year, one came from the University of Washington, another
from the University of Toronto and another from North Carolina
State University.

Granted, some of these hirings came with increased compensation
packages. But where is the evidence that salaries need to be hiked
even more to maintain the trend?

Salary levels will always have some role in hiring. But the UC
has plenty of other incentives for people to work here. By some
accounts, the UC is the most prestigious public university system
in the world. Its two flagship campuses ““ Berkeley and UCLA
““ have name-brand recognition the world over and UCLA is the
most applied-to university in the nation. The UC system is often on
the cutting edge of research, teaching, development and public
service.

Given that, the regents should take the money ““
privately-donated or otherwise ““ that they would use to raise
high-level salaries and invest into the areas that truly make the
UC an attractive place to work.

And if would-be chancellors or future UC presidents rank
“make a lot of money” at the top of their list of
motivations, then maybe the UC shouldn’t want them to take
the job anyway.