When the UNC System Board of Governors confirmed to give Chancellor Randy Woodson a $63,000 raise at its Jan. 11 meeting, some members of the N.C. State community expressed anger. But when it comes to salaries for heads of large universities, Woodson’s pay isn’t especially high.
According to the News & Observer, the Board of Governors offered Woodson a one-time retention payment of $112,630 to be paid by March 31 by N.C. State University, as well as a retirement plan of about $50,000 per year, contingent on a contract to stay with the University through 2015 and on “the availability of non-state funds at NCSU.”
Some studen ts immediately began posting angry reactions on Facebook and elsewhere that the salary hike was uncalled for in the face of recent cuts in funding for education in North Carolina.
Student Body President Andy Walsh said he doesn’t agree.
“I can’t speak for all students, but I personally think it’s an adequate package,” Walsh said. “We retained a great leader, and I can’t imagine trying to fill his shoes, if it’s even possible.”
Walsh said Woodson was highly sought after by other institutions, most notably the University of Florida.
“N.C. State is at a time of growth and reaching new potentials,” Walsh said. “It’s just not a good time for a leadership change. The University made it a priority to keep him.”
Despite what he described as a friendly working relationship with Chancellor Woodson, Walsh said he could understand where the criticism came from.
“A lot of people may just see numbers and percentages — and, yes, they are high,” Walsh said. “But I challenge those people to understand the number of resources it would take to replace the chancellor … We’d be losing someone who lobbies for us, and who knows what other staff would leave if he was gone?”
Justine Hollingshead, director of the GLBT Center, concurred. “Serving as the leader of a large institution can be a thankless job,” she said.
So what is the “going rate” for chancellors and presidents of universities comparable to N.C. State?
The University maintains a list of “peer institutions” based on size, student population and programs offered.
A look at the annual base salaries of some of those universities’ chancellors shows Woodson’s pay isn’t especially high in comparison. In fact, it’s significantly lower than that of several of his peers.
“The Board of Governors would not have given him a retention offer if they didn’t feel he deserved it,” Walsh said.
Walsh isn’t the only one who thinks so.
“I’ve seen four [other] chancellors since I’ve been here,” Hollingshead said. ”None of them compare to what he has accomplished and can ultimately do for N.C. State.”
Both Walsh and Hollingshead said Woodson more than fulfills his requirements as chancellor.
“During the hate incident last year, the Chancellor emailed me every day just to see if I was okay – he didn’t have to do that,” Hollingshead said.
Walsh said as student body president, he gets a view of the chancellor not many students can share.
“He’s in the office at 7:30 every morning and leaves late, sometimes to go downtown and advertise for the university,” Walsh said. “He goes above and beyond to build the name of the University, which ultimately raises the degree value for students.”
Even though Woodson is at the top of N.C. State’s organizational chart, he’s not its highest-paid employee. For instance, coaches Mark Gottfried and Dave Doeren both have annual base salaries of $750,000.
“The university is a business and people need to remember that,” Hollingshead said. “Chancellor Woodson is just the person to lead us into the future as a successful business, that of education.”
