Universities to study
women, minority pay
The Council of Presidents for the six state universities, including Kansas University, voted Wednesday to begin a study of equity in salaries for women and minorities.
The study, to be completed in December, is being done in answer to questions about pay equity raised during the last legislative session.
Kansas State University Provost James Coffman said the statistical study would be done to "see if there is any evidence of systemic problems." Coffman is the chairman of the Council of Chief Academic Officers, which recommended the study be undertaken.
Once the statistical study is completed, it will be combined with anecdotal information and presented to the Legislature with breakdowns for the individual universities.
How the information may be used depends on what the study reveals.
Regents send budget
request to governor
As is required of all state agencies, the Board of Regents sent its budget requests to the governor's budget office on Wednesday.
In a report to the board's Task Force on Postsecondary Funding, the regents budget director told the board it is requesting an increase in funding of $65.2 million for fiscal year 2001, which begins July 1, 2000.
The total board request is $707.1 million in general use funds, which includes tuition and state general fund money.
State universities would receive a total of $582.7 million, an increase of $47.3 million over this fiscal year.
Community colleges would receive $74.6 million, an increase of $12.3 million.
Washburn University would receive $9.3 million, an increase of $1 million.
Technical schools and colleges would receive $21.5 million, an increase of $1.8 million.
The board office is requesting funding of $19 million, of which $16.1 million would go to student financial aid and $2.9 million would go to administration.
Education official gets
title, job description
Since going to work for the Board of Regents in July, Joe Birmingham has been without a job title.
Birmingham began work in the board office when authority for community colleges and vocational-technical education was transferred to the regents from the state Department of Education. At the Education Department, Birmingham was assistant commissioner for lifelong learning, overseeing community colleges and technical schools.
Last week, Birmingham received a title to match the duties he has been performing since going to work for the regents. He is now deputy executive director.
Birmingham shares duties with Executive Director Kim Wilcox, with whom Birmingham vied for the job of executive director this summer.
As Wilcox explained, Birmingham is responsible for the internal management of the board office while Wilcox focuses on the office's relationships with the regents, the Legislature and the university, college and school campuses the board now oversees.
"I'm like a provost," Birmingham said. "And he's the chancellor."
Birmingham is also acting as academic affairs director for the regents while that position is open.
His annual salary of $89,988 remains the same.
Birmingham is still waiting for office space on the 14th floor of the Security Benefit Building in Topeka, where the regents offices are located.
"We don't want him sitting down," Wilcox said of Birmingham. "He has too much to do."
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