The College Fix

When Kimberly de los Santos took on additional duties in her role as associate vice president of Arizona State University’s Office of University Initiatives, the promotion came with a hefty increase in pay. Her salary jumped from $130,000 in 2008 to $195,000 in 2009.

Though she did not return repeated phone calls and e-mails asking for clarification of her role and salary, an ASU spokesperson explained that her raise was given because of an expanded role in overseeing university initiatives, as well as to retain her services. According to the office’s website, these initiatives include fostering “entrepreneurship, social embeddedness, university innovation and education at ASU.”

Public records showed that administrators like de los Santos were well represented among the top salary increases at ASU. At least 45 highly-paid employees were given base salary raises of 20 percent or more over the last three years. Of the employees in this group, 18 were professors and associate professors, six were exclusively administrators, and another 16 were in mixed but predominantly administrative roles, including deans of colleges. None of the administrators taught more than one regularly scheduled class, though several are listed as advisors for “independent studies,” according to ASU’s website. The remaining five were coaches of sports teams.

For Dr. Matthew Ladner, vice president of research at the Goldwater Institute, administrative bloat is a symptom of the inability of Arizona’s public universities to control their spending—and at a time when many private citizens are making do with less.

“The universities have largely been shielded from the effects of the downturn, and they are spending more now than they’ve ever spent,” Ladner said.

The universities have increased the number of employees making at least $150,000 in each of the last three years, and employees within this group continue to see significant raises related to promotions and retentions, according to records obtained by the Goldwater Institute.

The Goldwater Institute has the full story here.

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