The College Fix

David Bray | Minding the Campus

Author’s Note: Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge that the following misfortune for Georgia taxpayers could not have happened to a more deserving group of faculty members. Furthermore, in fact-spilling for the taxpaying public, this exercise is my responsibility alone, and my colleagues are not involved; I speak only for myself.

Kennesaw State University (KSU), a Georgia taxpayer-funded institution with over 49,000 students, has made a significant misstep. Provost Ivan Pulinkala, a dance professor with an annual salary exceeding $350,000, has undertaken a misguided overhaul of the academic salary structure based on a flawed study. The outcome? A leftist-styled equity approach, where professors receive equal pay regardless of their academic pedigree or field of expertise. The worst part? Georgia taxpayers are footing the bill for this costly and misguided equity exercise.

KSU hired Buck Global, LLC, in early 2022 to conduct a salary study for tenured professors, spending at least $234,790 in taxpayer dollars on this consulting firm, as revealed by a contract obtained through an open records request. The study’s flawed approach became evident quickly. Buck’s spreadsheet grouped diverse academic fields under broad and inaccurate categories, such as lumping economics in with “Finance and Financial Management Services,” despite the distinct differences in market salaries for these fields. This error effectively meant that professors in disparate disciplines—like quantitative analysis, economics, and finance—were all treated as if they were in the same field for salary purposes. For context, this is akin to paying history and English professors the same salary simply because they both fall under the liberal arts, ignoring the differences in market value for each field. The result? Provost Ivan Pulinkala and President Kathy Schwaig—who earns approximately $500,000 per year and was previously the provost and dean of the Coles College of Business—ended up approving salary increases based on these inaccurate categorizations.

Finance and economics are considered sister fields of study; however, due to significant differences in opportunity costs—namely, non-academic employment opportunities—finance professors earn significantly higher salaries.

According to Dean Robin Cheramie of the Coles College of Business at KSU, who earns over $300,000 per year, professors of finance earn a median salary of $180,900, while professors of economics earn a median salary of $134,000, based on data from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This represents a 35 percent salary premium for finance professors over economics professors. Dean Cheramie used these AACSB differences to award salary increases to faculty in Coles College in early 2024, thus maintaining the salary distinction between the two academic fields in line with what has been the norm for multiple decades.

Additionally, when the dean hires new faculty in the Departments of Economics (E), Finance (F), and Quantitative Analysis (QA), she differentiates between the three academic disciplines and awards salaries accordingly: E, F, or QA. The provost, the dean’s superior in the overly bloated university bureaucracy, views E, F, and QA as interchangeable regarding salary.

In October 2023, I requested a meeting to discuss this costly mistake with the provost. When I arrived at the meeting, a surprise guest was invited by the provost, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and professor of education, Pamela Cole, who makes over $250,000 annually. I was told she would provide additional insight into the Buck study; the meeting completely underwhelmed me. The only administratively led dialogue was about “CIP-codes.” These are supposed to designate each faculty member’s academic discipline, but KSU’s database is clearly inaccurate.

My PhD is in finance, and I have always excelled at any quantitative task. Mathematical coursework has always been my favorite. Over approximately 50 minutes, I tried to explain the ideas expressed in the second paragraph of this article to the two administrators, but to no avail. This is another case of zero accountability by university administrators for poor managerial decisions. However, this one will cost Georgia taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next several years.

In March, I requested documents pertaining to faculty members’ annual contracts to analyze salary data. Below is a list of salary percentage increases for a select few faculty members discussed in this article. Their names are omitted to protect their identities:

Person A: 12.093%
Person B: 6.00%
Person C: 21.959%
Person D: 10.444%
Person E: 2.946%
Person F: 29.357%
Person G: 23.851%
Person H: 30.003%
Person I: 2.747%
Person J: 23.447%
Person K: 22.766%
Person L: 16.196%
Person M: 10.827%
Person N: 6.765%
Person O: 37.52%
Person P: 21.104%
Person Q: 25.965%

I only investigated one academic department, but I am certain this negligence exists elsewhere. It would have taken 10 minutes to draft an email asking the department chairs—experts in their respective faculties—if the academic disciplines were correct before distributing over $2,000,000 annually in taxpayer funds. In full disclosure, I requested a raise to reinstate the finance premium discussed above, and the provost told me, “Your claim of a misappropriation of taxpayer dollars is without any merit. Following a review, your request is denied…” One thing that is undoubtedly without merit at KSU is the hiring of many administrators. I wasn’t simply asking for a raise; I also offered to help the university with numerous issues they are incapable of articulating and unwilling to address, such as freedom of speech, academic freedom, and the removal of social justice ideology. I have been denied multiple times.

In closing, I am by no means implying that economics professors were not underpaid or undeserving of raises in line with their academic discipline. I am saying that we now have an academic department (EFQA) where some economists and quantitative faculty are earning lower salaries because the dean pays them less than their peers, whom the provost pays more. If I were in their position, I would explore my options, as many of these individuals are likely experiencing wage discrimination in the Coles College of Business. I understand that many of them are not tenured and do not feel the job security that tenured faculty do, but retaliation from administrators is also legally actionable. I will stand up for these great individuals if they decide to seek salary justice—my original term, and don’t try to steal it, campus leftists.

Universities are run by administrators who realize that the academic disciplines they studied in college don’t pay well. These campus bureaucrats climb the administrative ladder to overpay themselves, spread incompetence, and force nonsensical initiatives on the faculty. I see many cracks in the ivory tower, and I hope to disrupt the ring of incompetence and reorganize colleges for the benefit of all Georgians. I wonder if Sonny Perdue, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, who earns over $520,000 per year, will provide the leadership Georgians need to achieve salary justice!

Originally published on September 10, 2024 by Minding the Campus.

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IMAGE: Kennesaw State University

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