Aug 30, 2006 - 02:10:51 CDT
The president of the state College of Science, who is the target of a petition campaign asking for her resignation, has been omitted from a list of North Dakota college presidents who are in line for 5 percent pay increases.The proposal would raise the annual pay of Joseph Chapman, the president of North Dakota State University, and University of North Dakota President Charles Kupchella to $201,606 annually. The two men lead the largest schools in North Dakota's 11-college system, and get the highest salaries.
The Board of Higher Education, which is holding its annual summer retreat in Bismarck this week, plans to consider contract renewals for the university system's presidents on Wednesday. The renewals normally happen in July, but were delayed by the resignation of former Chancellor Robert Potts.
Potts, in his final evaluation of Chapman, declined to recommend a pay raise for him. Potts said the NDSU president had been attempting to undermine him and the university system. Chapman denied Potts' allegations.
New Chancellor Eddie Dunn, in a letter to board President John Q. Paulsen, is recommending that seven of the system's 10 presidents be granted 5 percent pay raises, retroactive to July 1.
Hart, who makes $123,736 annually, would get no pay increase. The College of Science is a two-year school in Wahpeton.
The other two presidents, Gordon Binek at Bismarck State College and Gary Hagen at Mayville State University, were recently hired as temporary appointments, and Dunn's letter says their compensation should not change.
Hart said Tuesday she had not seen the pay recommendations and could not comment about them. She has said she intends to leave the college, where she has been president for six years. Her employment contract ends June 30, 2008.
A member of the College of Science's alumni foundation recently submitted a petition to the Board of Higher Education, asking that Hart resign. The school's faculty has also given Hart a vote of no confidence, with faculty members saying they were unhappy with recent administrative changes, and pay raises given to top administrators.
Dunn's letter to Paulsen refers to the turmoil, and recommends that the board "delay action on President Hart's employment contract until such time that the board is provided with appropriate and sufficient information to reach an informed decision."
Dunn is also asking Paulsen to appoint a task force to study the compensation of North Dakota's public college presidents and the chancellor.
The group would finish its report by year's end, and any recommended pay increases arising from it would be retroactive to July 1, Dunn's letter to Paulsen suggests.
"Completing the study and implementing the recommendations, as feasible, by the end of the calendar year will demonstrate a response to the urgency of resolving this long-standing issue," Dunn's letter says.
North Dakota's campus presidents normally have what is called a "rolling" three-year contract, meaning as it is renewed, another year is added to ensure the contract is always three years long. Presidents may be fired only for cause.
Dunn's recommendation includes a three-year contract, beginning last July 1, for each of the seven presidents who are in line for raises. However, the "rolling" provision is not included. Dunn said it will be reviewed as part of the compensation study.
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