The California State University Board of Trustees passed an amended resolution concerning presidential selection and compensation on Jan. 25 in Long Beach, Calif.

According to Trustee and Chair of the Board of Trustees Herbert Carter, the board had decided last year to tackle the system of compensation for presidents within the CSU system in order “to diffuse what was becoming a predominant discussion on the compensation of presidents.”

The issue of presidential compensation had been raised in the public by groups such as the California Faculty Association (CFA) regarding the lack of transparency and the amount of compensation that university executives such as presidents have received.

The “Special Committee on Presidential Search and Compensation Policy” had been appointed by Carter and was convened last August to research the CSU’s options for reforming presidential salaries and the overall selection process.

The committee often consulted with groups and members such as the Legislative Analyst’s office and Senators Lowenthal and Alquist in coming to its decision.

The previous system of presidential compensation had been determined by the California Postsecondary Education Committee, which had used what the committee had deemed was a comparable set of universities across the United States to create a fair salary for CSU presidents.

With the creation of the special committee, a resolution was eventually proposed that changed the salary criteria by creating a new set of universities for the Board of Trustees to base the president’s salary on.

The universities chosen to take part in these new standards for judging presidential pay were selected on the basis of their location, enrollment, budget, financial aid students, graduation rates and research funding.

Trustee Lou Monville said at the meeting Wednesday “what’s important in the policy is that we’ve made a commitment that we will review this on a yearly basis” and “will continue to solicit feedback and advice.”
An amendment was recommended by Carter to the original resolution proposed by the special committee that read “when a presidential vacancy occurs, the initial base salary, paid with public funds, to the successor president, shall not exceed ten percent of the previous incumbent’s pay.”

Carter explained that the amendment should be passed so that it would help to finally resolve the issue of presidential compensation and allow the board to move on to other matters.
“I am proposing that the salaries of newly appointed presidents in this system not exceed the maximum of 325,000 dollars in general fund support,” said Carter. “It seems to me is that we need to try and get this issue behind us so that we can get on with the real business of this system and the responsibilities of the trustees.”