Features

Administrators up to 25 percent; staff and faculty less than 2 percent increase 

OAKLAND — The University of California is considering boosting some top administrators’ pay by as much as 25 percent, although most faculty and staff members would get raises of less than 2 percent. 

The proposals, to be considered by the UC Board of Regents next Thursday, come amid warnings that the budget outlook for the nine-campus system is bleak. 

The president of UC, campus chancellors and most UC system administrators would get 2 percent raises under the proposal. 

But some senior managers would get more. UC Berkeley’s executive vice chancellor, Paul Gray, who received a merit pay increase in October that took him from $218,400 to $222,800, is set to get another boost to $260,000, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. 

By contrast, Gov. Gray Davis makes $165,000 a year. 

Executive vice chancellors at other campuses are scheduled to get raises from 20 percent to nearly 26 percent. 

UC officials say the higher salaries are necessary to attract and keep top talent. 

Preserving that kind of leadership “especially during these extremely challenging economic times, is critical to maintaining UC’s competitiveness and institutional quality,” said UC spokesman Paul Schwartz. 

But UC Santa Barbara chemistry professor Richard Watts said that the same argument could be made for faculty. 

“I have no doubt that many people in these positions are worthy, but I feel there is a disparity between the way they are being handled and the way the faculty are being handled,” said Watts, who will get a 0.5 percent raise. 

UC’s tenure-track professors earn an average of $91,934. One-third are scheduled to get 2 percent raises; the rest will get the 0.5 percent cost-of-living raise.  

UC also is considering putting up to 3 percent of professors’ salaries into their retirement plan funds. 

UC clerical workers make an average of $33,921.  

Their proposed raise is 1 percent.