The Cal State University quelled statewide criticism of its executive compensation policy Wednesday by capping presidential salaries at no more than 10 percent above an incumbent’s base pay.
The cap is not retroactive and will only affect compensation afforded by state support. The 23-campus system’s universities may still supplement presidential salaries with respective foundation sources.
Currently, San Diego State, San Jose State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo arethe only CSUs that supplement their president’s salaries.
SDSU Foundations doles out a $50,000 annual supplement to SDSU President Eliot Hirshman’s $350,000 salary and, SJSU and Cal Poly’s foundations supplement their president’s pay by $25,000 and $30,000 respectively.
CSU presidents are also either provided with housing or paid an additional housing supplement. Twelve of the 23-campus system’s presidents are paid either $50,000 or $60,000 annually for housing.
Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander is paid $320,329 annually and is provided with housing.
Criticism of the university system’s executive compensation policy first erupted after it awarded a $400,000 salary to Hirshman while simultaneously raising undergraduate tuition by 12 percent.
Since, the board has created a special committee on executive compensation but has still faced criticism over a recently released institution comparator list, most notably from State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and the editorial boards of the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times.
“If valid comparison institutions are used, rather than the slanted data contained in the proposal,” Sen. Lieu wrote to the board before its Wednesday meeting, “it would show CSU presidents are already being compensated at or above the average salaries of their peers, especially when CSU’s generous noncash benefits are taken into account.”
The comparator list divided each of the university system’s 23 campuses into 4 tiers based on enrollment and budget, comparing their presidential salaries to other universities nationwide. According to the CSU, the list will be update annually.
But Sen. Lieu has since eased his criticism of the board.
“Today’s changes minimize many of my concerns,” he told the board at its Wednesday meeting. “I think it’s important that you take this step to put this behind you.”
According to Erik Fallis, a CSU spokesman, the university is looking forward to focusing on issues that affect its students.
“We want to talk about that stuff a whole lot more,” Fallis said, citing continually dwindling state support.
Fallis also acknowledged that criticism of the board might have been premature, noting that the Wednesday was first time the board as a whole met specifically on executive compensation.
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