Herbert Carter, head of the university system's governing board, may face a struggle for reconfirmation. Some legislators are angry over increases in both tuition and executive pay.
By Carla Rivera and Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
As chairman of the governing board of the California State University system, Herbert L. Carter has positioned himself as a consensus builder at a time when the system has been battered as never before by budget cuts, student protests and discord over salary and hiring policies.
SACRAMENTO - Sen. Ted W. Lieu Jan. 4 amended a bill that would limit raises for California State University presidents, give preference to in-state talent, while requiring executive pay hike decisions to be made in open session.
Pars of thsi bill were originally introduced late last session as a special session bill, but time ran out before hearings could be scheduled. Lieu's effort has now been expanded and amended into aregular-session measure, Senate Bill 959, with four goals:
THE trustees of the California State University did the right thing on Wednesday by adopting a 10 percent cap on raises for CSU presidents.
It was a bit of a surprise. The trustees were expected to endorse a new policy by the chancellor that would open the door wide to outrageous executive pay. That morning, this newspaper and others in Southern California editorialized against that policy and supported a cap, like the one pushed by state Sen. Ted Lieu in SB 959. The trustees listened.
California State University's Board of Trustees adopted a policy limiting salaries paid to its newly hired presidents on Jan. 25, but some of Sacramento State's faculty and students find the change to be too little, too late.
Maybe the trustees of California State University need to take a remedial music class. Their tone-deafness is disturbing.
A few months ago, CSU drew widespread criticism for setting the salary for the new president of San Diego State at $400,000 — an increase of $100,000 over what his predecessor had received. Now, the trustees are expected to approve a new compensation policy that, if it had been in place at the time, could have paid him close to $460,000. Salaries for new presidents at other campuses also could increase under the policy.
The California State University Board of Trustees votes to cap the salaries of new campus presidents after State Sen. Ted Lieu introduces legislation to limit compensation.
The California State University Board of Trustees voted today to cap the salaries of new campus presidents to 10 percent above the base pay of the previous president.
