Cal State Long Beach Faculty Protest of Exec Salaries

California State University, Long Beach faculty will demonstrate at the campus entrance this morning to publicize salaries of the state chancellor's execs while students get priced out of college.

Teri Yamada, an Asian Studies professor, CSULB faculty representative for the union representing 23,000 faculty, saidexecutive salaries have increased 71% since Charles E. Reed was hired in 1998. This compares, she said, to faculty's 27% increase, which seems pretty solid right now. But she said the consumer price index in that period rose 42%.

"The students suffer the most," said Yamada, who is also on the statewide board of California Faculty Association, the union that also represents coaches, and other faculty.

Mike Uhlenkamp, Chancellor's Office spokesman, pointed out that no one in the system has received a raise since 2007. And he noted that the faculty pay increase may not sound like much, but it amounts to $20 million for the next fiscal year.

"If you combined the salaries of the chancellor and all 23 campus presidents, it's still only half of what [faculty] are asking for, said Uhlenkamp. He said research has shown that California college presidents make on average 24% less than what they could make in almost any other state's universities of comparable size.

The union says that one of the worst ways students and their instructors have suffered is by drastically increasing the number of adjunct, or part-time, professors. Such professors make substantially less than fulltime professors and have no security; they are being hired to replace full professors in order to save money, she said, claiming some adjunct professors are living in poverty.

Spokesman Uhlenkamp of the Chancellor's office acknowledged Tuesday that state budget cuts of more than a half billion have forced the system to hire more part-timer professors in fiscal years that can drastically change. It's not ideal, but we've had to make adjustments with an extremely volatile funding situation....it's like a roller coaster." And he said it's not over yet.

"We're seeking a one-half of one percent increase out of a $4.5 billion budget," Yamada pointed out as faculty painted picket signs Tuesday afternoon. "We're trying to get out to our community, and our students that faculty has had enough.....We think that Cal State money should be going to pay for faculty and students and the courses of instruction, and not executive management."