The University of Idaho has gone through five leaders, both temporary and permanent presidents, in the past six years.
Is University of Idaho's presidential search about to become a trainwreck? asked 43rd State Blues blogger Serephin in early February, pointing out that one of the leading contenders was former Colorado State University president Larry Penley.
Later, it was reported that CSU President Larry Penley resigned his post ... abruptly. The resignation came weeks after The Colorado Independent published an investigative series highlighting the decisions made during Penley’s tenure to drastically increase athletics funding and funding for his own office, at the expense of academics.
Today, the Associated Press is reporting that Kansas State provost Duane Nellis says he turned down an offer to become the next University of Idaho president after the state Board of Education rejected his salary request.
Nellis says his pay expectations were less than he and his wife make together at Kansas State University, where the couple earns a combined base salary of $370,354 a year.
Former president Tim White was paid $291,912 in his fourth and final year leading Idaho's oldest public university. He left for the University of California-Riverside last year, where he has an annual base salary of $325,000.
"I was not being unreasonable, in my opinion," Nellis said. Nellis is paid a yearly base salary of $272,116 as provost and his wife, Ruthie, makes a $98,238 base salary working in institutional advancement, said Kansas State spokeswoman Beth Bohn.
While none of the five finalists announced in January have been publicly offered the job, Nellis said board leaders extended an offer to him by telephone on Wednesday. "I told them, given what they were offering me, I was turning them down," Nellis said.
Nationwide, median pay and benefits for presidents of public research universities rose 7.6 percent during the 2007-2008 school year to $427,400, according to an annual survey that The Chronicle of Higher Education released in November.
White's $291,912 is a salary "substantially below" the average for a research institution of its size and reputation, said Paul Fain, a senior reporter at The Chronicle who researches compensation of university presidents.
"That's near the bottom," Fain said. "You're going to have a hard time getting who you want if you're in that range."
For example, the new president of West Virginia University will be paid a base salary of $450,000, Fain said.
"It's a competitive market and these are difficult people to find," Fain said. "They have to have clout with faculty members, they have to be able to talk the talk of business and politics, be media savvy and work with major sports programs. They have to wear a lot of hats and wear them well. They are a rare type of person."
The next Idaho president will most likely be offered a base salary similar to what White was being paid when he left, Board of Regents spokesman Mark Browning said.
Nellis was one of five finalists selected by a university search committee. The committee recommended two finalists, Nellis and Montana State University Provost David Dooley, visit the northern Idaho school for interviews.
During a visit last month, Nellis assured the Moscow campus he would stick around if the Board of Education picked him.
Ham Shirvani, president of California State University Stanislaus, pulled his name from the search in mid-February after his school's governing board and members of the community urged him to stay in California.
Now just three finalists remain including Dooley, Don Burnett, dean of the University of Idaho Law School and ... Larry Penley.
Dooley earns a base salary of $169,950. Burnett earns a yearly base salary of $207,938, according to the University of Idaho. Penley earned a base pay of $389,000 before resigning last year, according to The Chronicle's compensation survey.
What will be the next chapter in this tragic comedy?
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On the Net:
Associated Press: UI finalist turns down job because of pay
Kansas State Collegian: Nellis declines University of Idaho presidency
Idaho State Board of Education: http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov//
The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/
See: http://www.123idaho.blogspot.com/ because Idaho needs your help.