MORGANTOWN – Following reports that WVU President Gordon Gee asked senior leaders to take a voluntary pay cut of up to 10%, The Dominion Post submitted a series of questions to the university about this move.
WVU said Wednesday they are working to supply answers but “it likely won’t be until sometime later next week.”
According to media reports, Gee said at a Monday Faculty Senate meeting that the majority of the senior leaders complied, and it was done months ago.
Given the ongoing outcry for this very move, which preceded the Board of Governors’ final vote on Sept. 15 to approve program cuts and faculty RIFs, the newspaper asked WVU why it waited until now to announce it. We also asked why it was voluntary, and not mandatory as were the RIFs and program cuts.
WVU Provost Maryanne Reed said Monday that she was among those taking a cut, but that WVU wouldn’t be revealing who volunteered. We asked WVU, if they plan not to reveal the names, to provide the total financial impact of the pay cuts.
WVU officials are public employees and their salaries are public record. Reed’s 2022 compensation was $435,561.10. If she took the full 10% cut, that would reduce her annual compensation by $43,556.11, to $392.004.99.
The actual impact of the pay cut during the final few months of 2023 will be open for review next year when her 2023 compensation is published. It will also be possible to review the 2023 compensation of all senior leaders next year, to see who took a cut and how much.
Gee’s 2022 compensation was $804,455.36. A 10% cut would reduce it to $724,009.82 – but again, the cut will only impact his pay for the final few months of the year.
Legislator comments
The Dominion Post polled current and former local legislators of both parties about the pay cuts and the timing of the announcement, and a few were able to respond by deadline.
Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said, “I think it’s a responsible move. If I were an administrator, I’d take the cut. It’s the right thing to do.”
He sent a copy of an Aug. 22 letter he sent to the WVU BOG. In it, he wrote, “As a representative of Marion and Monongalia counties, my office is hearing from many constituents right now about the program elimination recommendations announced as part of the university’s Academic Transformation process.
“We are also hearing strong concerns about the cost and quantity of upper-level administrative positions. I hope and recommend that cost-saving measures and reductions in force be considered in this area, in addition to academic programs, as part of the Transformation and budget-balancing process. I understand these decisions are difficult ones, but please understand they affect real people and real students.”
Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, said, “While I’m appreciative of the senior leaders who took 10% pay cuts, it would have been helpful to know that senior leadership was sharing the burden as the faculty and staff reductions were made over the last few months. In the spirit of transparency, and because WVU salaries are a matter of public record, I hope that WVU provides more specifics on the people who have taken pay cuts and the amount of money saved.”
Former Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, who is running again for a seat in the new 82nd District, has been outspoken through the transformation process. She wrote, “I say yes to the question of whether WVU senior leaders should take a voluntary 10% pay cut. My overall thoughts are that an administrative pay cut should have been done months ago, when it was raised by faculty and staff, but it is never too late to do the right thing.
“When so many people are losing their livelihoods, it is only fair that employees earning large administrative salaries at WVU should be asked to take a percentage cut. Because WVU is supported by state taxpayers, WVU needs to be transparent about the salaries and transparent about who agrees to take a pay cut.”
She noted that the pay cuts would help WVU’s finances but wouldn’t solve everything. “Damage to WVU’s reputation has already been done by this ‘transformation,’ which focused mostly on quantity and not on quality.
“The consequences are dire for this community,” she wrote. “There seems to be limited understanding of the personal costs of these changes – for colleges and departments to have so many members looking elsewhere for jobs, and for individuals to suddenly have the rug pulled out from under them, after working so hard to become experts in their fields. There are consequences for students and for WVU’s ability to recruit new faculty as well. Who is going to want to come here under this cloud?”
She concluded, “As a person with four generations of my family who have graduated from WVU, I am heartbroken. Instead of moving full steam ahead, it is time to slow down. And above all, listen to faculty and staff, something that was not done enough in this process. I want my alma mater to survive financial challenges, but I want it again to be a place where students can obtain quality educations and where faculty and staff are proud to work.”
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
