North Dakota higher ed board votes to take back raises if study on presidents' salary isn't completed

Jul. 10—VALLEY CITY, N.D. — Five top employees in the North Dakota University System office would have to give back recent equity raises under a move made at the latest State Board of Higher Education meeting.

The action came June 27 by way of Nick Hacker, serving at his final board meeting in Valley City before his eight-year term was up.

Hacker asked that salary increases, previously in the meeting's consent agenda, be pulled out for open discussion.

He expressed frustration that vice chancellors and the chief of staff in the NDUS office received recent equity raises on top of a 6% salary increase for all state employees approved by the Legislature, while the state's college and university presidents were left out of equity adjustments and some remain "significantly undercompensated."

Hacker made a motion to rescind equity raises given to those five employees in NDUS Chancellor Mark Hagerott's office if the board does not take action on a presidential salary analysis.

Hacker said the vice chancellors do "phenomenal work," but it's wrong to not take care of campus leaders at the same time.

Hagerott wasn't happy about the last-minute development.

"I knew about this about 45 seconds before it happened, which I don't appreciate since they're my staff," he said.

Hacker said the board had "kicked this can down the road" for too long.

"Every time we've talked about it, you have created or brought up a crisis. And so without some sort of level of accountability, I don't believe we'll deal with it," Hacker said.

The motion approved on a 6-2 vote requires a presidential compensation study be completed and acted on within one year.

"It just never seems to gain traction within the board or within the system office," Hacker told The Forum.

He said his motion is aimed at boosting salaries of some of the lower-compensated presidents at the state's 11 colleges and universities.

Five of those presidents earn between $215,000 and $227,000 annually, either less than or similar to the salaries of all four NDUS vice chancellors.

The vice chancellors and chief of staff saw combined state and equity raises ranging from more than $16,000 to nearly $25,000, taking effect July 1.

Under legislation passed in the spring, all state employees receive a 6% salary increase for year one of the biennium followed by a 4% increase for year two.

On top of that, North Dakota lawmakers created a pool of funding for equity adjustments to ensure state employees are being paid at a level that's competitive with the private sector.

Contrary to Hacker's claim, Hagerott said the board has focused on ways to compensate presidents in the past, including with cars and houses, and that the board hired North Dakota State University President David Cook at an "elevated salary."

As of July 1, Cook will earn $445,200 a year, an increase of $25,200 with the 6% state pay raise, according to NDUS.

Hagerott's salary is $424,035 a year, up $25,442 from the 6% state raise.

He said he did not request an equity increase for himself but did so for his staff in order to retain them.

"This doesn't send a real strong retention signal to them to stay. I don't know if that factored into your considerations," Hagerott said of Hacker's move.

The higher education board had already chosen a consulting firm to analyze whether North Dakota's college and university presidents were being fairly and appropriately compensated.

However, the board decided to put off the study until after the legislative session, on suggestion from outgoing SBHE Chair Casey Ryan.

Tim Mihalick, who previously served as vice chair and has since become chair, told the board he's not "a huge fan" of compensation studies.

"But I think what Nick (Hacker) has presented will incentivize the staff and get this done," Mihalick said.

In fact, the NDUS Presidential Compensation Study Committee set a meeting for Monday, July 10, at 11 a.m. to begin looking at the matter.

The lower five on the presidential salary list are Brian Van Horn of Mayville State University at $227,108; Alan LaFave of Valley City State University at $226,546; Rod Flanigan of the North Dakota State College of Science at $222,600; Bernell Hirning of Williston State College at $217,321 and Doug Darling of Lake Region State College at $215,235.

Presidents of the state's two research universities top the salary list with Cook from NDSU at $445,200 and Andrew Armacost of the University of North Dakota at $405,825.

The remaining campus leaders and their salaries are Steven Shirley, who serves as president of both Minot State University and Dakota College at Bottineau, at $292,350; Doug Jensen of Bismarck State College at $248,992 and Stephen Easton from Dickinson State University at $240,774.

All of those annual salaries include the recent 6% raise enacted by the state Legislature.

In the NDUS Chancellor's office, after Hagerott, the top earners are David Krebsbach, vice chancellor for administrative affairs/chief financial officer at $240,734; Darin King, vice chancellor for information technology/chief information officer at $239,106; Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor for academic & student affairs at $238,550; Jerry Rostad, vice chancellor of strategy/strategic engagement at $199,551 and Terry Meyer, chief of staff at $163,245.

All of those annual salaries include the recent 6% raise enacted by the state, as well as equity raises.

Hacker said it's worth noting that some in the chancellor's cabinet are paid more than some college presidents, though he acknowledged the responsibilities along each of those lines might be quite different.

He said it's one of the strongest slates of campus leaders that North Dakota has had in a long time.

"I think it's incumbent on the board to make sure that we're being competitive or we risk losing top talent, top leadership," he said.