Letter: Raises for CSU officials criticized
Union-Tribune 2/6/07
Writing as chapter secretary of the California Faculty Association at Cal State San Marcos, I believe CSU Chancellor Charles Reed has a lot of nerve. Since 2002, faculty have seen just one 3.5 percent raise, and now Reed is stonewalling in contract negotiations. But in just the last two years, he has given over 23 percent in pay hikes to himself and his 23 campus presidents.
Reed recently launched a new boondoggle to keep all those high-paid bureaucrats busy. It's a strategic priorities planning initiative that will involve lots of executive meetings and fancy dinners – all on the taxpayers' nickel. This “initiative” goes by the lofty name of “Access to Excellence.” It takes a lot of nerve to brag about “access” when you've increased student fees by 76 percent in five years and plan to raise them 10 percent every year from now till 2010. It takes a lot of nerve to crow about “excellence” when the CSU can't keep outstanding faculty because salaries are 18 percent below market.
Reed isn't just driving away students and faculty, he's driving our university into the ground. It's time for a change. It's time to end bureaucratic bloat and sign a fair contract with faculty so we can provide our students the quality education they deserve.
LANCE NEWMAN
San Marcos