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University of Alaska Regents Defend President's Pay RaiseAn 8.5 percent pay increase approved Friday for University of Alaska President Pat Gamble was part of a long-term plan to make his salary more competitive.Related Content
FAIRBANKS — An 8.5 percent pay increase approved Friday for University of Alaska President Pat Gamble was part of a long-term plan to make his salary more competitive, the chairman of the UA Board of Regents said Tuesday.
Fuller Cowell said regents had agreed informally to re-evaluate Gamble’s salary about a year after the new president began work at UA in June 2010. If he was meeting expectations, a significant raise was planned, Cowell said. “He has done an outstanding job this past year,” Cowell said. “The regents felt we wanted to get him closer to normal.” That “normal” range for a president at an institution like UA is somewhere between $300,000 and $350,000, according to a consultant who advised the regents during the search process for a new president. Gamble, a former Alaska Railroad executive and U.S. Air Force general, signed a three-year contract with an annual salary of $295,000 last year. It was intentionally set below the consultant’s recommended range during a probationary year, Cowell said. With the raise, Gamble now earns about $320,000. The salary increase was approved by an 8-1 vote, with Regent Ken Fisher casting the opposing vote. Regents Jo Heckman and Carl Marrs were absent and didn’t vote on the pay increase, which was introduced during the new business portion of Friday’s meeting in Juneau. Fisher, speaking by telephone from Juneau, said he believes Gamble was already being paid a fair salary and that public service positions should be judged by more than just financial compensation. The Alaska governor, he noted, makes less than half as much as the UA president. Fisher said his vote against the raise had nothing to do with Gamble, who he said has been “peerless” in his first year leading UA. “This is not a reflection of his performance,” Fisher said. “We could not have made a better selection for president.” UA spokeswoman Kate Ripley said the regents also gauge executive compensation by comparing to 17 peer institutions from around the country, including the University of Colorado, University of Oregon and University of Massachusetts. A dozen of those schools returned a recent executive pay survey, which determined the median pay for their presidents is $418,300. UA’s goal for executive salaries is that they be 10 percent below the market median of similar positions at other universities, Ripley said, and Gamble remains well below that level. The pay for Gamble’s predecessor, Mark Hamilton, was set at a yearly rate of $300,000, along with a $70,000 annual bonus each year the contract was fulfilled. Hamilton retired in 2010 after 12 years atop the UA system. Cowell said he expected scrutiny for boosting executive pay during tight economic times but believes Gamble’s raise is fair compensation for his performance. “I can tell you that me, as well as the rest of the regents, are aware of the university’s public perception,” Cowell said. “We want to be good stewards of the public’s money.” Contact staff writer Jeff Richardson at 459-7518. |
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Vae Victus said on Wednesday, Sep 28 at 2:04 PM
Meanwhile, student fees, tuition, and other attendance costs continue to rise. The UA system is government largesse and bureaucratic incompetence defined. Over 20 campuses are maintained around the state. 20! Right now at UAF, there is ongoing construction to rip up everything around Akasofu that a PREVIOUS several year long contract had just laid down. The Upper Dorms are literally falling apart, the water lines are corroded and leaking all around campus, and the UA says "where will we get the money to fix it?" Where did you get the money for the make-work construction? Where did you get the money to put in Frisbee Golf? Where did you get the money to build a coffee cart for the library that couldn't even fit through the library doors, and had to be totally redone? Levy it upon the students, or garnish more from the State coffers, of course. The UA is BY the bureaucracy, FOR the bureaucracy. Administration first, students last.
74506458gottheirnumber said on Wednesday, Sep 28 at 2:13 PM
Through the years I have seen the University of Alaska system increasingly co-opted by the military industrial complex. The position of president now amounts to nothing more than a revolving door for the pentagon. The selection and treatment of UA presidents are similar to age old practices with ancient Rome. A selected former tribune from the legion – honored after their selfless service to the Empire with proper title and chests of gold somewhere in the distant providences. Total BS! Bottom line - UA exists to serve UA! It has beyond a doubt some of the most “student unfriendly” campuses in America! Instead of an 8.5% salary raise – he should have received at the least a 20% CUT! The students are the last consideration in the UA system and the administration is always the TOP! The Board of Regents are a joke and need to be thrown out!
74506934UA Student said on Wednesday, Sep 28 at 8:48 PM
How can the regents compare the UA President’s salary with other President’s salaries from around the country when we're one of the smallest campuses around, student-wise? To me it's like comparing a Mom and Pop grocery store salary to the likes of Fred Meyers or Safeway.
74521633UA Student said on Wednesday, Sep 28 at 8:50 PM
How can the regents compare the UA President’s salary with other President’s salaries from around the country when we're one of the smallest campuses around, student-wise? To me it's like comparing a Mom and Pop grocery store salary to the likes of Fred Meyers or Safeway.
74521664jjj said on Thursday, Sep 29 at 2:47 PM
I LOVE WHEN PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE COSTANT SCAMS WE ARE VICTOMS OF!!!!! MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE WAKING UP!! KEEP IT UP FELLOW ALASKANS AND TRY TO WAKE THE SHEEP UP!! I'M TRYING AS HARD AS I CAN, I KNOW I GET PEOPLE MAD BUT I HAVE AN AGENDA TO WAKE UP AS MANY AS I CAN. YOU ARE THE TRUE PATRIOTS!
74561874jjj said on Thursday, Sep 29 at 2:50 PM
get on the web and check out infowars and drudgereport for the real news and truth! IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! It is scary but once you wake up and put the pieces of the puzzle together it will be impossable to keep your eyes shut anymore, look to alternative news for the truth not the LAME STREAM MEDIA CONS!
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