Elson Floyd is latest university president to take voluntary pay cut
Here’s another name to add to the list of university presidents declining raises or taking voluntary pay cuts: Elson Floyd.
As I reported in a story earlier this week, when Floyd left the presidency at the University of Missouri system last year, he became the third-highest paid public university president in the country. In terms of base salary, his new job at Washington State University paid him $600,000. He was then given a raise in August, bringing his salary in Washington up to $725,000.
This morning, Floyd told the Board of Regents there that he wanted a $100,000 pay cut because of the looming budget problems facing the state and the university.
“These are exceedingly tough times for my students, faculty and staff,” Floyd said in a news statement. “We will be asking them to think more creatively and work harder with less as we deal with budgetary restraints. It is incumbent upon me to lead by example.”
Washington State University was notified by the state earlier this week to prepare for a budget cut of up to 20 percent.
As I reported in a story in today’s paper, Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton announced earlier this week that he would take a nearly 10 percent salary cut next year as one of many belt-tightening measures around the university in light of the economic downturn and the plummeting of the university’s endowment.
I noted in that story that while Floyd was president of the University of Missouri system, he declined one raise and donated another one back to the university, citing the university’s tight finances at the time.
Now I can’t help but wonder, which university president will be the next to take a voluntary pay cut? And I wonder if this trend will catch on amongst corporate CEOs. Unlikely, but who knows. Here’s another idea: what about university football coaches? More on that later.
The Grade is the St. Louis region’s premier blog on education and child welfare. To read other recent posts, go to www.stltoday.com/thegrade.
Kavita Kumar covers higher education for the Post-Dispatch. 
This is an impressive gesture. You also have a great idea for coaches. But of course the Mizzou is going a different direction. The sports blogs say the Mizzou football coach will be getting a big raise so he will make 2.5 million dollars a year. With such awful priorities no wonder Floyd left.
In response to the comment about the priorities of how the University of Missouri’s spends its budget, the athletic department generates over 99% of its own operating budget. They have an operating budget of over $39 million and generate over 99% of that budget. Elson Floyd did NOT leave the University of Missouri because of the salaries paid to the football or basketball coaches. If you want a good coach you have to pay them well and they don’t come cheap!! MU is experiencing record enrollment and a lot of it can be attributed to the success of the football team.
Elson Floyd is, and always was, a class act during his tenure in Missouri. Even with the controversy stirred by Mrs. Floyd, he always led by example and was a straight-shooter. It is no disrespect to Mr. Forsee to say that the state of Missouri lost a creative and dedicated public servant when Dr. Floyd moved on.
Now if only the higher education institutions would cut their budgets in a similar fashion. College tuition is becoming so high that many bright kids will not be able to afford to attend.
It amazes me what is news worthy today. A half page article on page 3 of the St Louis post dispatch on this story, Is it really news? When some one gives back five percent of a salary when their making $725,000 a year he will never even miss it. These university leaders at private an public universitys are way over paid just like the CEO’s who ruin companys with their eccessive pay and then leave with a golden parachutes.I wonder what they think to themselves when they get there pay check each week? The average person cannot even understand what it would be like to earn that kind of money.He should give it all back but $100,000.
I agree with Bill. I am a supporter of UMSL and Elson Floyd was good to his word when he began addressing the inequity of funding for UMSL relative to the other three campuses. Elson Floyd recognized that UMSL can be a critical player in our region’s economic development and he supported UMSL and Chancellor Thomas George. Also there is an Elson Floyd scholarship at UMSL, initiated by student leaders and other admirers, which is very appropriate. I will miss Elson Floyd’s leadership.
Let’s not give Floyd too much credit for increasing the UMSL budget. That was due to Wayne Goode’s position in the Senate. Floyd simply was the messenger who took the credit.
The University of Missouri suffered a loss of prestige in Jefferson City and around the state because of Floyd’s mistakes. Exhibit A was his move to bring Northwest Missouri State into the UM system. If he had succeeded, it would have taken tens of millions of dollars to bring NWMSU up to reasonable standards consistent with the other UM canpuses. UMSL partisans rose as one in opposition to this terrible idea, as did anyone else who had a clue about the university and the state. Floyd continued to believe NWMSU should have been the 5th campus…even after the idea was trashed in Jefferson City and across the state. Floyd’s departure was welcomed by anyone who had been paying attention to his inepitude. Thanks to WSU, he is now an embarrassment to Washington State.