UL System Board Increases Compensation for System President Sally Clausen

UL System Board Increases Compensation for System President Sally Clausen. – Aug 26, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. – Citing her “exceptional leadership” in state, regional and national higher education circles, the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System today approved a 7.7 percent compensation increase for System President Dr. Sally Clausen.

Today’s action brings Dr. Clausen’s salary to $219,926 with a housing allowance of $34,000.

ULS Finance Committee Chairman Andre Coudrain noted that Dr. Clausen had refused raises in 2002 and again in 2004 because she said average faculty salaries in the UL System were too far below their peers for her to accept a raise.

Coudrain said Dr Clausen’s goal has been to move faculty salaries to at least the Southern regional average. Under her leadership, average faculty salaries in the UL System have moved up, now ranking just 8 percent below the Southern regional average, he said.

“We as a Board decided to respectfully move forward with a salary increase at this time, despite Dr. Clausen’s personal wishes,” said Coudrain. “Even with this increase, her salary still ranks 10 percent below her peers.”

Baton Rouge Board Member Victor Bussie, a veteran in Louisiana government, said, “Sally Clausen is worth far more than her compensation reflects or this raise reflect. She is a dynamic leader who is sought by other states, and we want her to know that we’re glad she’s decided to remain in Louisiana. Our state needs her, and our Board appreciates her.”

ULS Board Chairman Mike Woods of Shreveport called Dr. Clausen “one of the very best higher education leaders in the nation.” He added, “We want to reward her for exceptional leadership. It’s important for us as a board to periodically evaluate the system president and review her salary to make sure we’re remaining competitive with other states so that we can keep her in Louisiana. If we want top-quality leadership, we must remain competitive.”

Boysie Bollinger of Lockport, ULS board member and successful business executive, said, “Sally has passed up some very lucrative and challenging offers in higher education nationally. We have a duty to compensate her truly valuable work in Louisiana. Few administrators have resisted the temptation of higher pay elsewhere, and stayed in Louisiana to help educate our children. She really deserves more.”

The Board commended Dr. Clausen for her leadership in developing a unique open and public process that was used in hiring four university presidents; overseeing the dramatic turnaround in financial and accreditation aspects at two universities; increasing the standards for teacher certification at UL System schools; implementing a multi-faceted three-year campaign to inform Louisiana students about rising admissions criteria at the state’s four-year universities; and supporting UL System university presidents in their goal to exceed national graduation rates by 2012.

In addition, the Board cited Dr. Clausen’s accomplishments that extended regionally and nationally. For example, she was:

Selected by Inside Higher Ed magazine as “one of the most entrepreneurial college presidents in the nation.” That article was based on a 2004 book that researched more than 700 university presidents nationwide and cited Dr. Clausen’s “entrepreneurial leadership and prudent risk taking” as signs of a successful leader

Recommended by her colleagues in American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) to travel to Oxford, England, to participate in an elite workshop focusing on re-defining the role of the university president. The three-day workshop entitled, “The Oxford Conclave on Global Ethics and the Changing University Presidency,” will also feature discussions with experts on ethics and international issues

Recognized as a regional and national leader in higher education by serving as Vice Chair of the National Association of University System Heads (NASH); Executive Committee Member of the Board of Directors of AASCU; Member of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB); Member of the Commission for Graduation Rate Outcomes, a joint venture between AASCU, NASH, and The Education Trust.

For More Information Contact:
Rusty Jabour
225-342-6950
rjabour@uls.state.la.us