THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 123 ISSUE 90
Adam Buhler/KANSAN
STATE
Bill could cut employee pay
Cuts would affect high-earning state employees, including KU professors
BY ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON amcnaughton@ku.edu
A bill to reduce state employee pay would not affect student employees. Instead, only those at the University with a salary of more than $100,000 would receive the paycut.
In the revised version of the bill, the House Appropriations Committee approved a paycut for state employees who make more than $100,000 — making professors susceptible.
Barbara Phipps, the University Faculty Senate president, said she understood the state had a severe budget situation but didn't think this was the proper way to solve it.
"I'm empathetic to the fact that all state employees have to understand that situation and where we fit into that," Phipps said. "But as a faculty representative, I won't be happy about any faculty member's pay being cut."
Phipps said the threat of losing pay was especially unsettling considering that faculty was facing the third straight year of frozen salaries.
Pay decreases and frozen salaries for University faculty can hurt recruitment and retainment, which officials say in turn affects the quality of a student's education.
In her State of the University address, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said the stagnation in salaries made it difficult to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and staff.
"The past two years have seen a dozen KU faculty members leave for other universities because of stunted resources," Gray-Little said. "Several of these individuals have taken grant funding and the associated jobs with them."
Jack Martin, deputy director of University communications, said the cut would not only hurt prospective faculty but current faculty as well.
"No salary increases and the prospect of a salary cut makes our professors susceptible to wanting to leave" Martin said.
"Kansans want their students taught by excellent professors who are at the top of their academic fields," Martin said. "If we want to improve our academic quality and research productivity, we have to recruit talent."
In turn, the loss of talent does not help the academic quality of the University, Martin said.
Martin called it a "broad-brush" approach to require pay deductions for certain salary levels because money may be cut from people who receive funding from outside sources such as grants andresearch,
HOUSE BILL 2014 COMPONENTS
- A 7.5 percent paycut for "constitutional officers" - those appointed by the governor - such as judges, elected officials, president of the universities and regents.
- A 7.5 percent paycut for any state employee making $100,000 or more.
- Because the bill would not take effect for some time, it translates into a 2 percent reduction of annual salary, affecting the final six paychecks of the 2011 fiscal year.
- Dollars from the state employees' paycut would be put in deferred building and maintenance projects.
Source: Kansas Representative Pete DeGraaf
WHO MAKES MORE THAN $100,000?
- Bernadette Gray-Little, chancellor - $425,000
- Danny Anderson, dean of the CLAS - $260,000
- Stuart Bell, dean of the School of Engineering - $260,000
- *Stuart Bell, dean of the School of English*
*Stephen Mazza, interim dean of the School of Law - $200,000*
- Rick Ginsberg, dean of the School of Education - $184,000
More than 75 distinguished professors at the University make more than $100,000.
Source: University Operating Budget for fiscal year ending June 30,2011
Kansas Representative Pete DeGraaf, R-81, advocated for the pay cut.
thus penalizing people for bringing research dollars to Kansas.
DeGraaf said the previous
administration was "banking on money that wasn't there" and instead of being able to deal with the 2012 budget, they were faced
SEE PAY ON PAGE 3A
INDEX
Classifieds...7A
Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Opinion...5A
Sports...8A
Sudoku...4A
WEATHER TODAY 18-7
THURSDAY
289
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FRIDAY 38 23
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 8A
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All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
Jayhawks try to salvage Big 12 season against Iowa State
Kansas dropped five straight early on in conference play and has a 2-7 Big 12 record. It's a process the young players are learning from
OPINION | 5A
Is it appropriate to de-friend your ex? Columnists discuss how to handle the social presence of your past.
Burning Facebook bridges
.
Week-long events challenge bullying
BY IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
"Before I even knew my own identity, people had a preconceived notion about me," Araiza said. "I would say my experience was pretty typical."
Matt Araiza, a junior from Plano, Texas, is a gay student and the vice president of the fraternity Delta Lambda Phi Colony. He said he had not had any problems with bullying at the University, but did experience name-calling and badgering at an early age back in Plano.
The University of, Kansas scores four out of five stars on the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index, a self-assessment test used nationally by universities to evaluate their inclusion and support of the LGBT community on campus. That's a better-than-
average score, but the Office of Multicultural Affairs is promoting a series of events this week to raise more awareness and encourage public conversation about LGBT tolerance on the University campus.
These events are all part of Hate Out Week, including the Wednesday showing of the film "Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case that Made History." So far, Hate Out Week has featured an interactive educational activity called the "Tunnel of Oppression" on Monday and Tuesday, as well as guest speaker and anti-racist author Tim Wise on Tuesday. Events on Thursday and Friday will include a workshop on challenging injustice and a brown bag discussion on diversity in higher education.
diversity in higher education. "Bullied" tells the story of
SEE BULLYING ON PAGE 3A