Back to Inside

Regents visit WSU

By Amy Geiszler-Jones

The Board of Regents is encouraging “a grass roots initiative” in its push to get a three-year faculty salary plan approved by this year’s Legislature, according to board chairman Bill Docking.

While the board is making faculty salaries its top priority this year, there is a possibility the board will begin acting as an advocate for the classified employees who work at the six state universities that fall under the board’s jurisdiction.

Docking and Tom Bryant, interim executive director, wrapped up their visits to Kansas’ six public universities last week with a stop at WSU.

Many of their discussions at each of the campuses have focused on the faculty salary plan, which calls for a 7.6 percent pay raise annually for three years. The plan would bring Kansas salaries in line with those of their peers and keep up with peer salary growth.

As a whole, salaries at the six regents’ institutions average 12 percent lower than those at peer institutions. At 92.2 percent, WSU’s faculty salaries compare the best to its peers among the regents’ institutions. Universities are having a hard time hanging on to some top faculty who chose to go elsewhere for more money.

“We need people all across the state saying, ‘We need this,’ to their representatives and senators,” Docking said. The board also wants to see campuses advocating higher faculty salaries.

Universities should work with college-level advisory groups, comprising industry and community leaders, and alumni groups, getting them to join the effort, Docking said.

If quality is expected at the state institutions, top faculty are needed, according to the board. The risk of not keeping top faculty means losing top Kansas students to other states, reducing economic development in the state and lowering graduates’ competitive advantage in the job market.

During their campus visits, Docking and Bryant also heard from classified employees who say they would like the board to take a role in advocating issues important to the state’s civil workers.

Docking said the board plans to invite a classified employee representative to present the group’s position paper to the board. Docking said he plans to recommend the board be an advocate for those issues. The Classified Senates of the six universities collectively draft a position paper each year, outlining important issues which they present to state legislators in Topeka in the spring.

As part of their visit to WSU Oct. 29, Board of Regents Interim
Executive Director Tom Bryant, left, and Chairman Bill Docking,
second from left, toured WSU’s three satellite centers and
Metropolitan Complex. Kathy Rager, right, director of the
Downtown Center, led the tour of the facility which opened in
1994. Joining the regents representatives were President-select
Don Beggs, second from right, and President Hughes.

Clay Blair III from Mission, Kan., has been appointed by Gov. Graves and confirmed by the Kansas Senate as the newest member of the Board of Regents. He replaces Phyllis Nolan. He will serve a four-year term, which expires Jan. 15, 2002. Blair owns Clay Blair Services Corp., which represents clients in real estate investment and development.

Inside WSU is published by the Office of University Communications for Wichita State University faculty and staff on Fridays - with an exclusive online versionevery other Friday - during the fall and spring semesters. Items to be considered forpublication should be sent to campus box 62 or amy.geiszler-jones@wichita.edu 10 days before publication.

Editor
Amy Geiszler-Jones

Online Designer
Matthew Hicks