[East Carolina University*]'s chancellor, who is stepping down next summer, just got a 19% pay raise.

The UNC Board of Governors gave Steve Ballard, and several other chancellors, pay raises in a controversial move on Friday. The board took the vote behind closed doors and only made the pay raises public today.

Ballard's salary went from $322,560 to $385,000. That increase is retroactive to July 1st.

Ballard, chancellor since 2004, announced in July that he would be stepping down July 1, 2016. The chancellor plans to take a faculty role in leadership for undergraduate students at the university.

"I certainly recognize that the timing of this increase will raise concerns," Ballard said in a statement. "Our faculty and staff have not been compensated adequately and yet they continue to excel and to implement our mission. Retaining our talent has been our first priority for several years but much more work remains."

ECU says the increase brings the chancellor pay closer to the market range identified by a Board of Governor's study released earlier this year.

Ballard's last salary hike was in 2012.

State employees received a $750 bonus from state lawmakers this year.

via www.witn.com

Chancellor receives a $62,440 per year raise. Faculty get $750 in one-time cash.

Sounds about right.

To paraphrase someone on the Supreme Court (I think–I don;t feel like looking it up): I can't define unfair, but I know it when I see it.

*John and I taught at ECU

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  1. willwheels Avatar

    I know I’m just a dumb bureaucrat and don’t understand the ivory tower, but why does the salary of a guy who had said he is leaving have to be close to the market range?

  2. rjs Avatar

    hmmm…
    “Ohio State University President Dr. Michael Drake to earn $1 million a year” —
    His salary and compensation is about half of his predecessor, E. Gordon Gee, who for several years was the highest paid public university president in the country.
    http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/02/ohio_state_university_presiden_1.html

  3. John Whitehead Avatar

    It’s the private sector model. Raise the pay of the CEO while laying off and cutting the pay of workers. The Board of Governors are from the private sector and that is what happens when you run government (e.g., the university system) like a business. Politicians have been saying this for years and now it is happening in the UNC system.

  4. John Whitehead Avatar

    High executive compensation is easier to stomach when the executives are spreading the wealth down below too.

  5. John Whitehead Avatar

    Can you imagine leaving the UNC system for greener pastures and finding yourself in the Wisconsin system?

  6. Tim Haab Avatar

    We had a job candidate last year turn us down for a job at Wisconsin. No judgement, but not a choice I would’ve made.

  7. John Whitehead Avatar

    I’m not looking forward to the next time we go on the job market. The only good news in terms of recruiting is that we are not alone in offering a shaky climate for faculty.

  8. Tim Haab Avatar

    That’s why I found the decision odd. We have a relatively attractive climate for faculty. Raises most years over the past decade (I can only think of 2 years when we didn’t get raises), a republican state administration that seems to at least respect the University (no blatant attacks on tenure), a University that is investing $400m for the creation of new faculty position (looking to increase faculty numbers by 10%). Of course we have our issues, but right now the faculty environment here is pretty good.
    Enough of my recruiting pitch.

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