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September 18, 1998
By Brad Hayward
Office of the President
In an effort to keep the University of California competitive in attracting and retaining top leadership, the Board of Regents today (Friday, Sept. 18) approved salary increases effective Oct. 1 for senior UC officials, including President Richard C. Atkinson and the nine chancellors.
The Regents also approved merit increases for officers of the Regents, vice presidents, medical center directors, certain vice chancellors and deans, and other senior management employees in the university and its medical centers. These officials were eligible for the same average merit increase of 3.5 percent as other UC employees in merit-based pay plans. Some officials received an additional equity adjustment in order to promote retention or correct a salary inequity where UC pay significantly lags that of comparable institutions.
The salary action for the president and chancellors was based on an independent report indicating that as of July 1, UC chancellors earned an average of 32.5 percent less than their peers at 26 public and private research universities across the nation. The salary increases approved by the Regents are the first step in what is intended to be a two-to-three-year process of market-based equity adjustments to bring the salaries of UC chancellors into line with those of their counterparts at other institutions.
The Regents approved an 18 percent salary increase for Atkinson, from $263,500 per year to $310,900, including the equity adjustment and a merit increase.
The chancellors received salary increases averaging 18 percent, consisting of merit increases averaging 3.5 percent plus equity adjustments of between 12 percent and 16 percent. This action raises the UC chancellors' average salary to $253,133 and reduces the salary lag between UC chancellors and the comparison group to 12.2 percent.
UC uses a market-assessment methodology, endorsed by the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC), to determine appropriate salaries for senior university officials. The university's target average salary for chancellors is the mean salary of chief executives in the comparison group of 26 public and private research institutions, with pay variations based on the size, scope and complexity of each campus; performance and experience of each chancellor; and recruitment and retention factors.
As the Regents discussed in May, a compensation study by William M. Mercer, Inc., reported that the salary lag for UC chancellors in relation to the comparison group was 25.8 percent as of July 1, 1997. The gap grew to 32.5 percent as of July 1, 1998, with UC chancellors earning an average $214,456 while those in the comparison group made an average $284,116.
From 1990 to 1994, UC chancellors received no market or merit-based salary increases. Between 1993 and 1998, the average salary for the comparison group increased 47 percent, while the average salary for UC chancellors increased 13.7 percent. CPEC has noted that the salary gap could impair the university's ability to compete for executive leadership.
"There is a very limited pool of qualified senior managers in American higher education, and the growing compensation gap has made it more difficult for UC to remain competitive in recruiting new leadership," said Judith W. Boyette, UC associate vice president for human resources and benefits.
The 1998-99 state budget, signed into law last month by Gov. Pete Wilson, provided funds for salary increases for all eligible UC employees. Funding for raises averaging approximately 3.5 percent was made available for eligible UC staff. The budget for faculty salaries increased approximately 6 percent, funding a 2 percent range increase, a 2.5 percent parity increase and merit increases for eligible faculty. The parity increase is the final step in a four-year plan to restore faculty salaries to levels competitive with those at eight comparison institutions.
The eight institutions that UC uses to compare faculty salaries are Harvard University, the University of Illinois, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, the State University of New York at Buffalo, Stanford University, the University of Virginia and Yale University. Using this comparison group instead of the group of 26, the salary gap for UC chancellors was 38.1 percent as of July 1 and will be 17 percent after the board's action.
Under Regents' bylaws, the board must approve annual salary rates for all employees earning $160,000 or more. Attached is the list of new salaries for senior UC officials. Salaries of other university and medical center employees affected by the Regental actions are available upon request from the UC News Office.
UC 1998-99 SALARY LEVELS FOR THE PRESIDENT, CHANCELLORS, VICE PRESIDENTS & OFFICERS OF THE REGENTS PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY Richard C. Atkinson Current salary rate: $263,500 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $310,900 (a) CHANCELLORS J. Michael Bishop San Francisco campus Current salary rate: $274,000 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $323,300 (a) Robert M. Berdahl Berkeley campus Current salary rate: $230,000 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $271,400 (a) Albert Carnesale Los Angeles campus Current salary rate: $230,000 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $271,400 (a) Larry N. Vanderhoef Davis campus Current salary rate: $204,300 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $241,100 (a) Robert C. Dynes San Diego campus Current salary rate: $204,300 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $241,100 (a) Henry T.Y. Yang Santa Barbara campus Current salary rate: $201,000 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $237,100 (a) Ralph J. Cicerone Irvine campus Current salary rate: $202,500 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $234,800 (a) Raymond L. Orbach Riverside campus Current salary rate: $194,000 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $229,000 (a) M.R.C. Greenwood Santa Cruz campus Current salary rate: $190,000 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $229,000 (a) VICE PRESIDENTS William H. Gurtner Vice President, Clinical Services Development Current salary rate: $335,000 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $347,000 (b) C. Judson King Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs Current salary rate: $212,200 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $221,000 V. Wayne Kennedy Senior Vice President, Business and Finance Current salary rate: $211,200 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $220,000 Cornelius L. Hopper Vice President, Health Affairs Current salary rate: $199,400 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $206,000 Bruce B. Darling Vice President, University and External Relations Current salary rate: $197,600 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $205,000 W.R. Gomes Vice President, Agriculture and Natural Resources Current salary rate: $189,300 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $196,000 Anne C. Broome Vice President for Financial Management Current salary rate: $171,800 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $185,000 (a) Lawrence C. Hershman Vice President for Budget Current salary rate: $156,800 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $175,000 (a) PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF THE REGENTS Patricia A. Small Treasurer of the Regents Current salary rate: $256,600 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $265,600 James E. Holst General Counsel of the Regents and Vice President, Legal Affairs Current salary rate: $249,400 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $258,000 P. Leigh Trivette Secretary of the Regents Current salary rate: $116,100 Oct. 1, 1998 salary rate: $120,200 (a) Includes merit and equity increase. (b) Eligible for additional non-base building incentive pay up to $75,000 annually.