THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 14, 1994 TAG: 9411140034
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Virginia's secretary of education says public university presidents deserve above-average raises for working to cut money and academic programs from their budgets this year.
State lawmakers approved budget provisions earlier this year for the state's four-year colleges to increase presidents' salaries up to 6.9 percent next month and to award them merit bonuses of up to 5 percent.
Most of the four-year colleges plan to give their presidents the maximum increase - a total of 11.9 percent - compared with 3.5 percent for faculty.
That would increase the total annual pay for presidents at Virginia's three major research universities - the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech - to about $172,000. About $50,000 of that comes from private funds.
Gov. George Allen must approve the schools' plans, but they do not appear out of line, state Secretary of Education Beverly H. Sgro said.
Sgro said the presidents deserve recognition for bringing about controversial restructuring efforts mandated by the General Assembly to streamline their colleges' administrations and revamp academics.
``Many of the institutions have really given their presidents and leaders a difficult time,'' she said. ``Change is very difficult in the academic arena. The presidents have had considerable pressure.''
Sgro also said several state colleges are concerned that if their presidential salaries are not competitive, their presidents will be lured elsewhere.
The presidents' salaries do not include the lucrative retirement packages that many of their colleges have established for them. Nor do the salaries include perks such as free housing and the use of a car and expense accounts.
Also separate from the presidents' salaries is what many receive as directors on various corporate, educational or bank boards. When those earnings are added, the incomes of several Virginia presidents will exceed $205,000 this year, state documents show.
Under the proposed pay plan, the top earner among college presidents would be James Madison University President Ronald E. Carrier, who has held that ranking for several years.
With $95,000 in outside earnings, and a proposed pay and merit raise that would boost his state salary to $139,582. Carrier's 1994-95 income is projected to be $234,582.
A third of the state's four-year universities already have submitted recommendations to Sgro for their presidents to receive the maximum raise.
They also are seeking full merit bonuses ranging from about $5,000 to $8,200. The bonuses, which will not become part of presidents' base salaries, are determined by how much college leaders earn in both state and private pay supplements from their schools.
Most other colleges said they are following suit, though Sgro has not received their requests. The requests are due Dec. 1.
Longwood College and Radford University are not seeking bonuses for their presidents. Radford and the College of William and Mary have recommended increases slightly smaller than the maximum, school officials said.
Statewide, presidents' salaries have increased about 65 percent during the past decade, a salary comparison shows. During that period, the cost-of-living index has risen 43 percent.
In most cases, the salaries of Virginia's presidents also rank above the median salaries of their counterparts nationally, according to statistics from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Exceptions, however, include many of Virginia's community college chiefs. All but a few earned less in 1993-94 than the $88,398 national median for presidents of two-year colleges, state records show. by CNB