UW System Regents review compensation policy, adjust some salaries

SOMERS, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents today reviewed a new policy on Executive Salary Structure and approved salary adjustments for some senior academic leaders. The actions are part of the Board’s ongoing effort to address competitive compensation challenges across the UW System.

State statutes require that Regents establish market-based salary ranges for the UW System President and Senior Vice Presidents, all 14 UW Chancellors, and the 2 Provosts at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. For the 13 Provosts at non-doctoral universities and the UW System Vice President, the Regents must request action by the legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER).

The new policy, approved today by the Regents’ Business and Finance Committee, brings greater consistency to the range-setting process, ensuring that market assessments will be done every two years. Regents on the committee voted to broaden salary ranges in ways that will allow more flexibility in setting pay relative to each leader’s scope of responsibility, years of UW service, experience elsewhere, and other individualized factors.

“Some of these ranges have not been updated since 2006 or 2008. Benchmarking these ranges against real market data, and doing so on a regular schedule, makes good sense. Our UW System institutions need strong leadership. That means keeping the effective leaders we have today, and ensuring that future searches attract top talent,” said Michael J. Falbo, President of the Board of Regents.

The search for a UW System President is under way, and the search for a new Vice President for Finance at UW System will begin soon. UW-Madison will soon be searching for a new Provost.

In closed session today, the full Board of Regents approved individual salary adjustments for 10 of the 14 UW Chancellors. These are the first base salary adjustments for Chancellors since July 2008, except for the 1% pay plan increase that took effect this year for all state and UW employees. Since 2008, seven new Chancellors have been hired at non-doctoral institutions at higher salaries than veteran Chancellors.

Today’s approved annual salary adjustments, ranging from $6,000 to $10,500 per year, represent an average increase of 3.32%.

The Regents have advocated strongly for years to acquire more authority over the university’s personnel systems and compensation plans, and Regents today pledged to continue that effort.

“All of these decisions – the revised policy, the broader ranges, and the individual adjustments – are consistent with this Board’s commitment to competitive compensation for all faculty, staff, and academic leaders,” said Falbo. “We have given the Chancellors flexibility to reallocate existing resources, wherever possible, to address compensation equity and market gaps. Most campuses have made strategic re-investments of this kind to retain top talent. That is no substitute for broad, merit-based pay plans, but it makes a difference.”

“Even with the individual salary adjustments approved today by the full Board, our Chancellors’ average compensation remains well below the midpoint of their peers at other comparable higher-education institutions. The steps we’re taking today are just that – steps in the right direction,” said Regent Vice President Regina Millner. “In virtually every personnel category and every title range, UW total compensation lags our competitors. That’s an ongoing challenge for this Board and for our entire state.”

Salary adjustments approved today by the Board of Regents: