UArizona President to take 10% pay cut

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With the University of Arizona in a deep financial jam, the President of University of Arizona is taking what to an average person is a pretty deep pay cut. But faculty members ask is that significant or just symbolic?

More than four months after the crisis broke, University President Doctor Robert Robbins is adding part of his pay to the cuts in the works.

His base pay has been $816,000 a year

Taking a ten percent cut will cost him just over $81,600.

He’s also not going to collect $150,000 a year in a type of pay the Regents call at risk compensation.

And President Robbins will not collect $120,000 in performance pay. That money is normally paid over several years.

Faculty Senate Chair Leila Hudson says it’s a good symbolic gesture but too little too late.

“We want to see everyone who contributed to this problem take accountability, and I can tell you right now, it is not the working people who run the university. It is not the faculty, not the staff, not the graduate students. We need to see accountability among the senior leadership team. We still don't even have a target for cuts.” 14:24 runs:23

Hudson says UA is already headed for cuts in financially healthy departments and in the staff closest to the actual teaching—the ones who bring money into the University budget.

President Robbins says he will cut central administration including a review of senior administrators like Vice Presidents. He says there is no plan to offer retirement incentives but open slots may remain unfilled. He says there will be no across the board layoffs but there could be other layoffs as soon as next month.

Faculty Senate Member Ted Downing says the administration busted the budget with too many out of state scholarships, and that the base pay Robbins is giving up is still much more than an average salary in Tucson.

He thinks it's still too murky what President Robbins and the Regents will do but he wants to see change at the top.

“You got a whole stable, full of associates and assistants and God knows what Vice Presidents, all of them up at the 200-300, quarter of a million plus salary. How many horses do you need if you don't have the right jockey?”