Face the State Staff Report
Responding to CU President Bruce Benson's announcement that his institution will cut more than 50 jobs and implement 5 percent salary reductions for a handful of top administrators, a researcher in the CU medical school is calling the strategy "insulting."
Late last week, Benson announced cuts to administrative positions, salaries and campus operations that will amount to an estimated $6.2 million in savings. Benson's move comes as the university faces a $29 million shortfall.
While The Denver Post editorial board lavished praise on Benson Tuesday for the strategy, not everyone is persuaded. "[Benson] doesn't give a damn about the priorities of this institution," said Gary Moore, a researcher in the CU medical school. "His priority is him."
Benson's plan includes cutting 54 positions, 25 of which are already vacant and will not be filled.
Moore, who works in the division of hematology research at CU's Anschutz medical campus in Aurora, along with all other CU staff, received an e-mail from Benson (PDF) Tuesday morning detailing the process for layoffs and cutbacks. Moore thinks pay cuts for Benson, CU vice presidents and campus chancellors are nothing more than a political gesture, coming as Benson simultaneously eliminates administrative positions Moore believes are vital.
Benson, who has a base salary of $378,000, along with each of three campus chancellors and all university vice presidents are taking a 5 percent pay cut. This amounts to a total savings of $155,000, significantly less than one half of one percent of the $2.4 billion university operating budget. As previously reported by Face the State, M. Roy Wilson, Denver campus chancellor, earns in excess of $700,000 annually.
Moore expressed to Face the State that he is not alone in his opinion on Benson's plan, saying many of his colleagues feel the same outrage, but have expressed a fear of retaliation for speaking out about Benson's salary cut, which he called "insulting."
"There is this pervasive fear of retaliation if anyone says anything," said Moore. "People are terrified they will lose their job for speaking up. I've always been a fighter, I'll stick my neck out, I don't think they can fire me for that. I guarantee there are plenty of people willing to do [Benson's] job for $150,000 per year," said Moore. "If he was a true leader, a president who cared about the people who work for him, he would take no salary."
But CU spokesman Ken McConnellogue defended Benson's initiative to take a 5 percent pay cut. "I'm sorry that [Moore] is dissatisfied that the president is not taking a big enough pay cut for him," he said. CU officials say they will need to cut an additional $23 million from CU's budget in coming weeks to balance its systemwide $2.4 billion budget. Benson has previously said, "nothing is off the table."
As public and private institutions across the nation feel the pain of lethargic endowments and strained public resources, many are turning toward more substantial cuts than those advocated thus far by Benson. According to a research paper released today by the Independence Institute's Campus Accountability Project, some institutions are exploring salary cuts of up to 25 percent.
"While universities have gotten away with balancing their books on the backs of working students for years, our research has found that political sentiment has shifted drastically over the last eight months," said project director and paper author Jessica Peck Corry. "No longer can CU get away with raising salaries for 5 percent at the same time they are raising tuition by eight, nine or even 12 percent."
In March, Corry called on Benson to implement 5 percent salary cuts for all university officials making over $100,000. Days later, Republican Senate leaders, including Minority Leader Josh Penry of Grand Junction, and Bill Cadman of Colorado Springs, proposed an amendment to the state's budget bill that would have mandated would have cut at least $4 million from the state's budget and would not have required the elimination of a single job. The proposal was rejected by Democrat lawmakers.
Moore believes the university needs be more competitive with its hiring process and bid out salaries, similar to the process for contracts in the private sector.
"They justify Benson's pay by some committee saying that's what is competitive in a true market place," he added. "But they should be asking who can we find that is qualified to do the job and willing to do it for less."
McConnellogue called this suggestion "ridiculous."
"I think the notion of putting salaries to bid is ridiculous," said McConnellogue. "The president is the CEO of a $2.4 billion annual operation with 24,000 employees. If you want to do marketplace comparisons with CEO's of corporations of that size, I think President Benson's salary would be well on the low end."
Some CU students are also questioning Benson's cuts, saying they are a step in the right direction but don't go far enough. Tyler Martinez is a second-year law student and shares Moore's sense that a 5 percent pay cut is not enough, especially as his tuition increases every year.
"In these hard times, our top university officials’ salaries are too high," said Martinez. "While a minor pay cut for President Benson is a step in the right direction, it will come as little comfort to the students who have seen their tuition skyrocket. I cannot applaud loudly for Benson’s minor pay cut as I pay more now for school than I ever have before."
Note: Corry serves as an editorial contributor to Face the State.