New figures list Sugg as highest-paid in education
Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/235432/
University of Arkansas System President B. Alan Sugg is the highest-paid higher education official in the state, according to revised compensation figures released Monday.
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education allowed colleges and universities to change fiscal year 2009 compensation figures of their presidents and chancellors after some institutions expressed confusion over data requested by the Legislative Council last month, said Dale Ellis, department spokesman.
“Different schools inter- preted what they were supposed to send differently,” Ellis said.
The biggest changes were made by Arkansas State University. ASU System President Les Wyatt’s total compensation package was reported at $ 464, 980, down $ 75, 630 from what was reported to the state Department of Higher Education late last month.
Arkansas State University-Jonesboro Chancellor Robert L. Potts’ total compensation of $ 296, 298 was $ 23, 383 less than originally reported.
The changes knocked Wyatt from standing as the state’s toppaid higher education official, to No. 4. Sugg’s total compensation package was $ 538, 722.
Other information from the report showed: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson is No. 2 with total compensation of $ 530, 786. University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin is No. 3 with $ 508, 540.
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Chancellor G. David Gearhart, is No. 5 with $ 363, 446.
In an interview late Monday, Potts said the ASU System office changed the way it reported housing compensation, differentiating between public and private housing space to match the way it was reported by the state’s largest university system.
“They wanted to use a consistent methodology from the University of Arkansas System,” he said.
ASU officials first said earlier this month they planned to revise their figures. In an Aug. 8 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article, Jennus Burton, ASU vice president for finance and administration, said Wyatt’s housing compensation was reduced from $ 86, 486 to $ 43, 975, to eliminate the portion of the university-provided home where Wyatt lives that is considered public.
Burton said it wasn’t appropriate to compensate Wyatt for the portion of the house designated for public use.
Likewise, Potts’ housing compensation decreased from $ 31, 373 to $ 13, 357, and the estimated value of services such as cleaning, lawn care and maintenance fell from $ 18, 565 to $ 13, 198.
Sugg, whose figures were unchanged, receives a total base salary of $ 289, 170, system-provided housing of $ 32, 657, services such as cleaning, lawn care and maintenance of $ 31, 197, and a $ 23, 000 retirement match.
Wilson, of UAMS, has a base salary of $ 465, 000, an $ 18, 000 housing allowance, and a $ 23, 000 retirement match.
Hardin’s total compensation from UCA dropped $ 2, 127 from what was originally reported. The new figures included a shift of $ 900 from his base salary to “other” public compensation totaling $ 3, 793, and a $ 2, 127 reduction in his reported retirement match.
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Chancellor Joel E. Anderson’s total compensation increased $ 13, 857 from what was originally reported to $ 289, 330. UALR communications director Judy Williams said the change came from a $ 13, 767 increase in the estimated value of maintenance, cleaning, and lawn care from newly provided figures from the university maintenance department.
Ellis, with the state Department of Higher Education, said the figures are being provided to the Legislative Council.
State Sen. Sue Madison, DFayetteville, who requested the data to begin with, did not return phone messages to her home or cell phone Monday afternoon. Madison requested the survey in the weeks after it was revealed that UCA President Hardin received a $ 300, 000 bonus using public money. Hardin has since returned the money.
Ellis said it is the first time the department has been asked to report the full compensation packages of the state’s public college presidents and chancellors, including public and private sources.