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WSU: Regent says pay cuts could be on table

By Yesenia Amaro, Daily News staff writer

Posted on: Thursday, March 05, 2009

The chairman of the Washington State University Board of Regents says he doesn't believe President Elson S. Floyd's salary should be on the table in the face of budget cuts, but other adminstrative pay cuts could be considered.

University of Washington President Mark Emmert announced Wednesday that his salary was on the table as both university leaders in the state brace for significant reductions in state funding for the 2009-2011 biennial budget.

"(Floyd) already took a pay cut," Francois X. Forgette said. "I don't think Emmert has."

Emmert is the second highest paid public university president in the country with an annual salary of $905,000.

In November, Floyd requested and received a $100,000 pay cut, reducing his salary to $625,000 from $725,000. Just a few months before, the board had approved a $125,000 salary increase for Floyd bringing his salary from $600,000 to $725,000.

Floyd also set $25,000 aside for a scholarship fund at WSU and other colleges after he took the pay cut.

Forgette said Floyd's salary is now where it was when he first arrived at WSU.

College presidents and administrators in the country are highly paid. Forgette said administrative pay cuts are something that the University Budget Committee is going to have to consider since WSU already has been asked to trim $10.5 million from the current fiscal year budget.

"That is something that the administration team leaders are going to have to review and bring to the Regents," he said.

Forgette said the state's struggling economy is not getting better and possible cuts to the university could be in the 20-percent range. Both WSU and UW will have to make tough decisions, he said.

Making those decision is even harder when people believe everything is important, he said.

"It's tough to make cuts when the folks involved in those cuts believe their operations are paramount," he said. "These are challenging times."

Regent Scott. E. Carson was in a meeting in Chicago and could not be reached for comment. Regent Harold Cochran declined to comment.

Forgette said he was not in the position to comment on faculty pay cuts.

Yesenia Amaro can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 237, or by e-mail at yamaro@dnews.com.