KU Chancellor Hemenway given 2.5 percent pay raise / LJWorld.com

Archive for Thursday, September 18, 2008

September 18, 2008, 11:10 a.m. Updated September 18, 2008, 11:32 a.m.

Robert Hemenway's career at KU

KU's 16th chancellor, Robert Hemenway, announced Dec. 8, 2008, that he would retire at the end of the current academic year. He's been chancellor for 14 years.

Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway was given a 2.5 percent pay raise by the Kansas Board of Regents, which brings his potential salary compensation to $340,352, according to figures released by the regents on Thursday.

The 2.5 percent increase was given to all the regents university presidents and regents president and chief executive officer Reginald Robinson.

Of Hemenway's compensation, $267,177 is provided by state funds. The remaining $73,175 represents the maximum that he can receive from the KU Endowment Association.

The regents described the pay raises as cost of living increases. Last year, Hemenway received a 4 percent pay raise, but state budget problems have forced the regents and other state agencies to tighten expenses.

Hemenway is the highest paid university chief executive in the regents system.

Here are the state salaries and maximum compensation packages for the rest of the university chiefs:

¢ Kansas State University President Jon Wefald, state salary $255,298, and maximum compensation, $315,962;

¢ Wichita State University President Don Beggs, $223,391 and $277,160;

¢ Fort Hays State University President Ed Hammonds, $202,593 and $223,860;

¢ Pittsburg State University President Tom Bryant, $202,593 and $223,860;

¢ Emporia State University President Mike Lane, $202,540 and $213,200.

¢ Regents president Reginald Robinson, $185,525 and $197,825.

Discussion

LJWorld.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.

18 September 2008
at 11:14 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

bluerose (Anonymous) says…

…sniff …did *i* get a payraise for the 2009 fiscal year?… sniff …signed,lowly KU staffperson
18 September 2008
at 11:38 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

PapaB (Anonymous) says…

Didn't KU just get hit with a 7% budget decrease across the board? Where are the cuts? Apparently, this doesn't apply to the Board of Regents.
18 September 2008
at 11:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

mommaeffortx2 (Anonymous) says…

wow guess the tuition increase is really paying off for him.
18 September 2008
at 12:13 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Fatty_McButterpants (Anonymous) says…

“cost of living expenses”? Are you kidding me! He lives in a free house (when I write “free” I mean “paid for by the University”). He drives a free car. He gets free gas. He flies on a free jet. He entertains, the majority of the time, on his University expense account. The only living expenses this guy has are for Kit Kat's at 7-11.Meanwhile, outside the Regents Batcave, 45 students crammed into a classroom built for 20, after making a perilous journey down crumbling steps to get there.
18 September 2008
at 12:26 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

motomom (Anonymous) says…

great post, mr. mcbutterpants…….did you get this name from captain underpants?
18 September 2008
at 12:34 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

nobody1793 (Anonymous) says…

Judging by how much K-State sucks, I contend that Jon Wefald is more overpaid than Hemmenway.
18 September 2008
at 12:42 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

towanda54 (Anonymous) says…

I know a lowly KU staffperson who got a raise. I thought it was across the board.

18 September 2008
at 12:54 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

termtech215 (Anonymous) says…

Instead of reading these comments, I guess ought to get back to my underpaid job. Hemenway's raise is just a little under half what I make in a year at KU. The rich get richer. . .
18 September 2008
at 1:27 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

towanda54 (Anonymous) says…

http://www.oread.ku.edu/Oread03/Jun13…
18 September 2008
at 1:35 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

towanda54 (Anonymous) says…

oops, previous link was not the current year.Here's a link about raises for state employees for this year.http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/may/17/bill_okd_improve_state_pay/
18 September 2008
at 1:48 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

consumer1 (Anonymous) says…

The endowment association finally quit sending me request for donations after I sent them back a copy of the 2005 Salarie structure which included Heminway and Perkins. with an attached note saying, “you don't need my money”. This took about seven copies for them to finally get it. That is just his salary by the way no perks figured in.
18 September 2008
at 2:05 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

compmd (Anonymous) says…

The steam whistle was too expensive though.
18 September 2008
at 2:13 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

autie (Anonymous) says…

Maybe the should be “The steam whistle was too expensive though?” doesn't make sense that he should get a raise when everything else is on the block. I think they do have an earning tax on all those guys..state and federal. It is called income tax.
18 September 2008
at 3:07 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Kuku_Kansas (Anonymous) says…

I'm entirely fine with this salary increase, which is still far below the present annual cost-of-living increase.Whether you like that others are paid more than you or not, even the public sector competes. The Chancellor of University of Kansas should be far higher than any of the other sub-par Regents universities.As a three-time graduate of KU, I'm quite pleased with this Chancellor.
18 September 2008
at 3:23 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

volunteer (Anonymous) says…

I think the Regents acted responsibly. More responsibly than the Chancellor acted last year at convocation when he said, “Welcome, party animals!” And more responsibly than he acted in creating a new position, “Provost for Diversity” or something, costing 200 grand or so.Nevertheless, I reluctantly agree that as long as this man is determined to be adequate to serve as KU's Chancellor, a 2.5 percentage pay increase is fair and reasonable.When, however, can we anticipate his retirement?

18 September 2008
at 4:53 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

JoRight (Anonymous) says…

a 2.5% increase on that salary is quite big and although it doesn't quite cut inflation, the inflation rate is, well, “inflated.” Inflation hurts the rich in a different way than the everyday American; instead of buying that 3rd condo or going on their yearly 2 week vacation to the Bahamas, they can't. Whereas the everyday American has to cut back on groceries, seeing distant family, downsizing into an apartment etc.A 3% raise for a normal staff member that makes, say 35k, is ~1k compared to the chancellor's 8k raise.Now, the two sectors every American is hurting in is gas and food, and sure as hell the chancellor's gasoline bill & food bill does not even touch the everyday employee.I'm not upset by the raise, but, there needs to be some perspective of what deems a cost of living raise in his perspective; especially if most of his amenities are already accounted for.
18 September 2008
at 6:07 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

gccs14r (Anonymous) says…

If there were any evidence that these men do anything, paying them could be justified. $1,539,117 (the sum of their state compensation) would pay for about 30 Humanities professors, or fund a crapload of graduate students. If I were Hemenway, I would be embarassed to be given a raise in a time of rising tuition, economic turmoil, and discussions of budget cuts while my buildings crumble around me.
18 September 2008
at 6:10 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Marion (Marion Lynn) says…

In light of the economic woes of the University, this is shameful.
18 September 2008
at 7 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

davidsmom (Anonymous) says…

I think KU needs to pay the highest of all Regents' universities to keep a good chancellor, but I think he should step up and either refuse it or donate it. The former president of the University of Missouri system, Elson Floyd, when given his last raise by the Board of Curators, donated the entire raise to be distributed among the four campuses. I am not a Missouri fan, by the way. I am a KU mom. I just happen to work for UMKC, so this information is fresh in my mind.
18 September 2008
at 7:09 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

humblecommentator (Anonymous) says…

Pay equity is a very difficult subject. A “wealthy: businessman today can lose substantial money yet still owe substantial taxes because of income tax structures. He is soaked to pay for the “priviliged” government employees like Hemmenway, Self, and Mangino. Yet if I were Chancellor and hired the coaches I would be jealous of them. If I were a “lowly” professor (average salay $100,000) I would be steamed at them all. If I were a janitor I'd be mad as hell at the (many) do-nothing professors. That's the problem with entrenchment. The private sector somehow manages to allocate money where it is earned, Yet it has fallacies like grossly overpaid CEOs and atheletes too. Fairness is in the eye of the beholder. It is tough.
18 September 2008
at 8:08 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

budwhysir (Anonymous) says…

Good to see that politics have a very strong hold on our universities. Jus out of curiousity, does anyone know how much funding the state spent on the so called no child left behind program?Or better yet, does anyone know how much in charity donations the university might have given for less fortunate children in the area so they might have the opportunity to attend our not so fine universityStarting on the downhill side of an economic crisis, I find it repulsive that anyone would be given such a salary. I hope this salary is in no way funded by any loans at the banks that will be backed by our federal deficit for the next million years.
18 September 2008
at 9:02 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

gccs14r (Anonymous) says…

“If I were a “lowly” professor (average salay $100,000)…”I really wish the JW had broken down that figure by school and department. I know professors who make less than half that.
19 September 2008
at 11:27 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Everyones_A_Critic (Anonymous) says…

I've got no problem with this man getting a raise,……when everyone else is getting raises, but that is not the case. I am a lowly KU employee that doesn't even make the last five figures of Hemenways salary. reality:Sure would be nice to not worry about how I'm gonna afford dog food this month. Man, my tooth has been bothering me for a couple of months,…..well,….maybe I can put it off one more. With a college degree and 10 years of outstanding work experience, still just trying to survive. Let's get real here, give the PEOPLE a break.