Raises for ISU officials create stir

POCATELLO, Idaho – Pay raises for three dozen Idaho State University administrators have angered faculty and student leaders, who say they’d rather see higher teacher pay and lower student fees.

University officials say the increases are needed to bring administrators’ pay in line with their counterparts in Idaho and the nation.

“We had fallen so far behind, something had to be done,” university spokeswoman Libby Howe said. “Just like faculty are an integral part of the university, so are administrators.”

The administrative raises amount to about $350,000, spread among 36 officials. They were approved earlier this year by ISU President Richard Bowen and took effect at the beginning of the fiscal year, which started July 1, officials said Friday.

The pay raises amount to as much as 28 percent for some officials.

“When you’ve just stiffed the faculty, it’s definitely a bad time to raise administrative salaries,” said psychology professor Peter Vik, a former chairman of ISU’s Faculty Senate. “The reality is they aren’t losing administrators. The faculty are the ones who are leaving.”

Trevor Jensen, former student body vice president, said ISU officials discouraged student leaders from pushing for lower fees, saying the cut would prevent ISU from giving faculty members a raise.

“The money was apparently there, wasn’t it?” Jensen said. “The message I hope teachers get out of this is I hope they feel betrayed.”

Faculty members have received pay raises in recent years, while administrators’ pay had slipped to 21 percent below the average for similar jobs around the country, Howe said

Ken Prolo, the university’s financial vice president, said money for administrative raises comes from ISU’s institutional reserve.

That account will still have enough money for possible midyear salary adjustments for faculty, and the school’s deans are reviewing salary data to determine who is most in need of raises, Prolo said.

Asked about negative reaction to the administrative raises, Howe replied, “Is there ever a time that seems appropriate to people to raise administrative salaries?”