Three proposals received approval by the SIU Board of Trustees regarding salary increases for university officials at the July 11th meeting.
The board members voted unanimously to increase the salaries of SIUC Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Wendell Williams, SIUC Chancellor Austin Lane and SIU System President Daniel Mahony.
The first proposal aimed to increase William’s salary and change his title to Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management. The matter was recommended to Mahony by Lane, who presented his case during the meeting.
Advertisement
“Over the last three years I think Wendell has been here, he’s been a very valued member of our team,” Lane said. “[He] is very connected inside of the community, very connected with me, with superintendents and principals and counselors all over the southern Illinois region and across the state and even outside of our state.”
Lane said Williams leads enrollment efforts and offices that aid in enrollment, including the registrar’s office, admissions office and financial aid office.
“He is responsible for the development, the direction and the strategic management of the enrollment management efforts that we have,” Lane said. “A couple of years ago, we put together a strategic enrollment management plan [IMAGiNE 2030], and we’re seeing the results really pay off.”
He said Williams’ area has “expanded a little bit.”
“We’re putting SIU online; some of the things we’re doing on the online environment and the graduate enrollment into his shop to really watch those areas as well,” he said. “Before it was more focused on the undergraduate students. So I bring this forward to you for your approval for Mr. Wendell Williams to serve as our Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management.”
The proposal will increase Williams’ salary from $165,000 to $185,203 to reflect this.
The second proposal discussed an incentive compensation for Lane and was presented by Mahony.
Advertisement*
“As many of you know, in Chancellor Lane’s contract, he’s eligible for a performance bonus each year of $65,000,” Mahony said. “I should point out that it’s entirely funded by the SIU foundation so it does not use any state dollars or any general appropriations to fund that…Based on my review of the last year’s performance at SIU Carbondale, I’m recommending the full amount.”
“Increases in enrollment” and “increases in fundraising” were parts of Lane’s performance that Mahony recognized. Lane’s annual evaluation letter can be found in the meeting’s agenda posted on the SIU System’s Board of Trustees webpage.
The third item proposed the approval of incentive compensation for President Mahony. Chair J. Phil Gilbert presented the case.
“President’s Mahony’s leadership since he has been a president of this university has been nothing short of outstanding,” Gilbert said. “He has built a strong leadership team [and] he provides stability throughout the SIU system.”
Gilbert said he was a member of the board of trustees when “things were not as good as they are now” and credited Mahony for how the school system has improved.
“Stability at higher levels of administration correlates with the success and improvements of the institution…[Mahony] has become a leader not only in the state and region but the nation,” he said.
Gilbert mentioned Mahony’s educational events and fundraising efforts, and said that moving him to Springfield when they hired him was “one of the best moves that [they] made.”
“This university is doing better than a lot of universities in not only the state but the country and it’s due to his leadership and the leadership team he’s put together,” Gilbert said. “And so it’s gonna be my recommendation…that we grant him the full $115,000 incentive compensation, which again, is not state dollars, but it’s paid for through the foundation.”
Mahony’s evaluation letter can also be found in the agenda.
During the public comment period of the meeting, SIUC Professor and Faculty Senate President Yueh-Ting Lee spoke about the importance of stability and longevity in academic leadership but also advocated for more resources towards the rest of the SIU community.
He said SIU is fortunate to have had Lane and Mahony in office since 2020 and that the school is “moving in the right direction.”
“We want to see the continued stability with our top leadership for the benefit of our students, faculty, staff and for the southern Illinois region,” he said. “It is very important that the board members continue to support our current top leadership for the success and the growth of SIU and the region.”
However, he also discussed the need for other allocations of funding.
“We understand that growing enrollment is very important…Your help in securing or carrying more state budget appropriations for us is equally important,” he said. “SIU is the economic engine for the southern Illinois region…therefore, for the southern Illinois economy to grow we would appreciate you to advocate more sternly for us.”
He said faculty members have “depressed” salaries as well as an “increased cost of living,” and that “faculty salary equity issues exist.”
“These must be addressed with increased financial resources,” he said. “We work very hard to increase our enrollment, including retention and graduation rate. However, you as honorable members of SIU Board of Trustees, can allocate for us more successfully for the state resources and increase the budget we founded in front of our state legislators and government officials.”
He said the faculty members “represent SIU pretty well in the state, in the nation and around the world.”
After Lee concluded his speech, Gilbert said that everything Lee mentioned was “spot on.”
“I will say, in all the years I have been on this board, this is the first time I’ve agreed with everything that a speaker has said,” he said.
The meeting ended with a call of an omnibus motion. The three proposals were included in a list of items and acted upon in one vote. Once again, the items were approved.
A recording of the meeting can be found on the SIU Board of Trustees Meeting YouTube channel.
Advertisement
