By Rachel Lippmann, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – University of Missouri - St. Louis Chancellor Thomas George says he has no plans to give part of his salary back to help close a $3 million deficit at the university.
The heads of several institutions, including Washington University chancellor Mark Wrighton, have announced plans to take salary cuts to help close deficits. But George, who at $292,578 is the second-highest paid chancellor in the UM system, will not join them.
"A lot of us give to the university through different kind of plans and other things of this sort, and that's effectively like taking less salary," he said.
George is also defending a $943,000 pot of money meant to pay for promotions at a time when salaries are frozen to deal with the budget crunch.
The compensation pool is required by the UM system, and George says he'll be asking system officials for some flexibility that will allow the money to be used to boost staff salaries as well. But he says a university cannot afford to stop promoting faculty.
"We can't stop running a university," he said. "Our reputation of the university hinges on the faculty, the students deserve the very best faculty, we can't compromise that at all."
George says 12 faculty members received promotions last year, keeping expenses well below the amount in the compensation pool.
The state House has kept funding for the 2010 fiscal year the same as last year, part of an agreement Governor Nixon struck with the universities that requires them to keep tuition level. George says expenses at the UM-St. Louis will still be $3 million above available funds.