PORTLAND, Maine — The University of Southern Maine has rescinded pay increases for two employees in the wake of a controversial series of raises this budget year.
Shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, USM President Selma Botman sent an email to university faculty and staff to inform them that raises for Bob Caswell, executive director of public affairs, and Timothy Stevens, Botman’s chief of staff and special assistant for planning and project development, had been taken back.
The email was forwarded to the Bangor Daily News by a USM faculty member.
“Over the last week, I have listened carefully to many people,” Botman wrote, “and I completely understand that reasonable people believe that any salary adjustment should be scrutinized thoroughly to ensure that the university invests its precious resources prudently.”
USM spokeswoman Judie Alessi O’Malley said Wednesday evening that Stevens and Caswell met with Botman and offered to give up their salary adjustments after individuals inside and outside the university system voiced concerns about the pay increases.
The University of Maine System suspended all discretionary pay raises last week in the wake of news that 44 USM employees received $242,000 in raises during a difficult fiscal year.
The employees saw their salaries boosted between 5 percent and 41 percent under the Salaried Employees Compensation and Classification Program, which allows employees to have their positions reviewed to determine if their work warrants higher pay.
Caswell and Stevens received the second and third largest raises by dollar amount in that round of salary adjustments.
Caswell received a $18,212 raise in August 2011 after his position was reviewed. He attributed the 21 percent salary increase to the fact that he took on a number of duties outside of his original job description at the request of Botman. His salary will drop from $106,000 back to its previous level of $87,788.
“He was completely aware of this. It didn’t take him by surprise,” O’Malley said, adding that Caswell and Stevens offered to have their salaries dialed back because it was “what was right for the university.”
Caswell could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon because he was out of town on business and didn’t have cellphone reception, according to O’Malley.
Stevens received a $16,500 raise last August, from $89,500 to $106,000 — an 18 percent increase. His salary will return to its previous level. He also could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
The Salaried Employees Compensation and Classification Program was established in 2005 to compensate system employees for increases in workload and not to bring salary levels to the same level as other universities in the nation or University of Maine System, according to Tracey Bigney, the system’s chief human resources officer.
Since 2007, USM has lost an equivalent of 118 full-time positions which have either remained unfilled or been eliminated. Many of the tasks associated with those positions have had to be passed on to others.
Caswell’s increased duties included leading high-level campus task forces, taking on responsibility for coordinating internal communications, coordinating community events on campus and providing strategic counsel to the president, he said last week.
The removal of the pay increases will be effective on Stevens’ and Caswell’s next checks, which salaried employees receive monthly, according to O’Malley.
These raise eliminations are the only two that have been announced by Botman so far.
“My understanding is that there will not be any others,” O’Malley said.
Botman said in the email that she believes the decision is in the best interests of USM and the system, adding that “stewardship of public resources at this institution is one of my most important responsibilities.”
“This has been a powerful reminder of how deeply people feel about the University of Southern Maine and its importance to the future of individual students, their families, and this state,” Botman wrote.
Thats not good.ok to give a raise but think it through first.taking back a raise? never heard of it .
USM should hope that these two aren’t represented by a union.
They would be considered “Confidential” employees in the University System; employees who have access to high-level confidential information about policy and personnel. Confidentials are one of the classes of employees (along with hourly-paid supervisors, student workers, and Law School faculty) who are not represented by a union.
Many professional staff are also unrepresented. They do not get raises unless they can get their jobs reclassified (i.e. it is not good enough to do your own job well, you have to demonstrate that you are doing a different one) and have not received cost of living adjustments in three years.
Tim Whitehead gets $5000 added to his base salary every year, regardless of his team’s record, and he has received this for several years now. He would never consider giving one cent back and he could care less than nearly all other Orono employees having received NO pay raises for the past three years and none in sight. The value of being a “team player” doesn’t apply when it comes to one’s salary for someone like him.
The tenured teaching staff in Orono seem to feel entitled to annual increases despite the fact that they have guaranteed employment and recession-proof positions. While the cost of health care goes up about 20% every year, these folks seem to think that they should get salary increases in addition to these insurance premium gifts. Those of us in the private sector, whose jobs aren’t guaranteed, gave up on raises about 10 years ago. Let’s also keep in mind that Orono is a State school. We’re not talking about Yale or Princeton here. Raises in a taxpayer funded job in Maine in 2012 should be off the table.
Well said Bangorian.
Holy crap, I agree with you again!
Holly Crap, Rational thinking! Did you eat your Wheaties this morning?
I agree…but if UMO is dishing it out…..employees are going to take the money. Time for the higher ups giving those increases to stop it. But they are also in the educational system….time for some cuts.
big deal,i havent had a raise in 6 years.
If your pay isn’t going up about 3% a year to keep pace with inflation, it is the same as taking a pay cut. The buying power of your paycheck has actually dropped about 18% over the last 6 years. The good news is that the top 1% have seen their pots of gold explode by 300% in the last 20 years alone. Money that used to end up in people’s paychecks to offset the rise in the cost of living now ends up in some greedy s.o.b’s safe. The 6 Walton heirs are now sitting on $93 billion. They amassed this insane wealth by being the largest under employer in America. They could give away 99.999% of their wealth and still be sitting on $9.3 million! They now have more wealth than the bottom 96 million Americans, combined. If that doesn’t scare you a little, it should. We have anti trust laws to prevent one business from ending up with the whole market. But, we do not have any laws to protect us from one person ending up with all the money.
You really want to compare this to Tim Whitehead? Why don’t you go look at what other college coaches make then figure out if you have a leg to stand on.
How much dose your local little league coach get? I think it is a disgrace to all tax payer that on dime goes to to college sports. About 1% of college kids play sport. College sports as a whole almost always cost money. Why are the NEEDED ? Kid get out of high school and get a job who is paying for his sports no one . But he has to play for college sports he has no choice.
Hey, no great fan of TW here and you are correct with what was put in his contract. I think it would be very unlikely that TW would volunteer anything back and I’m not sure he should be expected to do that. The old AD that negotiated his contract was very generous as he was on his way out the door passing on a mess for someone else to clean up. Contracts are a very complex instrument, that when executed properly, are a win-win for boith sides. The UM AD needs to lay out a much different contract to TW when it comes up for renewal if he gets offered one. Many feel that it should be based on performance. Money is such a huge motivator. Maine Hockey has been in the dumps for way too long.
Call my lawyers !! Now !!
It is nice that someone is taking responsibility for these raises, but as stated the two USM folks “offered to give up their salary adjustments”. Very admirable thing to do by these two and I hope that your decision will come back to you in good ways in the future when the economy is better.
I don’t think there has been any raises, for cost of living, in at least 3-4 years. Lucky to have a job in this economy, I know, but there are a lot of hurting families just trying to get by.
Before anyone criticizes salaries, academic/education salaries are traditionally much less than corporate/business sectors unless you are in higher level administration or faculty. There is huge discrepancies in salary between administration, faculty and staff. Just the raises alone mentioned above would be a huge percentage of someone’s annual salary. Think they can live without that raise.
Yeah right there are many 100 k jobs in Maine”s private sector
I would advocate that those writing these articles and those commenting on it do some homework/research before reporting and commenting on such. It would be wise to point out the recent vote by the University of Maine System Board of Trustees to keep tuition rates flat, system-wide, for the next several years. This is an example of a university system being responsive to the needs and financial pressures of their students. Most aren’t aware of the fact that President Botman inherited a university deeply in debt from her predecessor, and was able to not only pay off the debt early, but also operate the university with a balanced budget until this coming fiscal year. And, it’s the widespread problem of declining college enrollment coupled with flat tuition funding that forces USM to once again face a new fiscal year with significant cuts. I hope that the public understands what USM’s leadership has done right – aggressively reviewing and enhancing student financial aid packages to lift student debt burden, significant program development and fundraising to support technology initiatives, including awarding full tuition packages to our state’s best and brightest science, technology, engineering, and math scholars; listening and responding to the southern Maine community – developing degree programs that are responsive to the private sector’s needs for workforce development (Technology, Risk Management, Tourism and Hospitality). None of this has been easy to accomplish, and represents leadership and responsiveness by the very employees vilified in recent articles and comments. It’s unfortunate that this institution’s successes can’t be heralded as loudly as it’s perceived failures.
I write this as a student and employee of the University of Southern Maine. As a result of the raises handed out and now rescinded, and the articles written about this issue, I won’t have a chance to argue for fair compensation anytime in the near future. You probably think that I’m an overpaid state employee, but before you judge, I hope that you’ll take a minute to consider some basic truths: Many, if not all, of the names on the lists released have taken on the responsibilities of 2 or more additional positions since the elimination of over 100 positions in previous years. Some of us are running entire programs and departments entirely on our own. We work as hard as employees in the private sector, and often, with far less compensation. This isn’t so different from what’s going on in the economy at large, and I realize this. Without a system that evaluates our salaries, we wouldn’t be able to earn pay based on exemplary performance or excessive additional responsibilities, and, in large part, that’s what you are seeing represented on these lists.I’m disappointed in the quality of the reporting surrounding this issue. No one has asked or reported on the cost savings obtained by eliminating over 100 positions and various internal programs in previous year versus the more recent salary increases. No one has investigated the actual level of additional responsibilities taken on by the employees, and in many cases, they are significant. Is it so wrong to work hard and be rewarded for it?It’s much easier to crucify without the actual facts.I don’t argue the right of the public to be aware of our salaries, or the right of the press to report it. However, if the paper had taken the time to properly research this issue and report it, a more balanced approach to reviewing compensation policies might have been taken. Instead, some of our hardest working employees system-wide, those paid hourly, have even less of a chance to earn a decent living. That’s the real tragedy here. And no, I’m not one of them.
you are joking right- get out in the real world and then review what you have written.
Responsibilities of 2 or more positions? Obviously they were not needed or essential and in no way justify pay increases as much as some people make in a year.
I attended College and know well they mind sets of the administration- time for reality check
HEY, no one is keeping you from going to the private sector. Go. Quit complaining.
Several glaring elements not being addressed:
First, enrollment had dropped dramatically…if ‘sales’ fall off, revenue falls off, i.e. credit hours purchased have declined; so giving salary increases to administrators reveals a remarkable insensitivity to the market dynamics.
Second, related to above is that students are flocking to higher education venues which offer more relevant, cost-effective education. The Southern Maine Community College is packed; no parking anywhere, classrooms overflowing and dozens of classes resulting in salable credentials and licenses. Husson just purchased 10 acres, U. of New England’s growing excellence in Health care is a major lure for the best students; and even KAPLAN university is filled with students. USM has lost considerable market share and is stuck trying to manage two campuses….one off Forest Ave. and the other miles away in Gorham.
Third, faculty salaries are frozen in union negotiations. Apparently Botman never took a class in basic politics of higher education.
Fourth, scrutinizing those pay raises revealed a lot of money spent on ‘marketing’, and the question is why so much money in an endeavor which isn’t working for USM. Apparently Botman hasn’t taken a class in marketing her college, or discovered the most cost-effective of doing it, and perhaps thinks that surrounding herself with a coterie of highly paid marketing assistants is the answer to declining enrollment.
I tend to view the USM fiasco similar to the decision to close Brunswick Naval Air Base; and someone has got to bite the bullet and close the Gorham campus or make it self-sufficient with schools that pay for the programs offered. It may have to be the Governor who takes the lead here, because the two campus strategy is no longer sustainable.
I work at the Orono campus, and I have previously worked for the state and the private sector. In my opinion, the lowest wage for work I have received is at the university, next highest state, highest public sector. I earn approximately half of the wages as I did in my previous private sector position, and 3/4 of what I earned working for the state (a DECADE ago). I actually made about the same amount of money when I was a college student working on co-op. Before you get your undies in a twist about health insurance, our family is on my spouse’s plan, and I decline the university benefit of health insurance. Yes, I could triple my salary if I wanted to move to Texas, but that isn’t the right move for our family. The trend of not receiving wage increases at all is soon to spread to more than just public workers (especially with bargaining rights being stripped left and right). Without a way to keep up with cost of living, we all get poorer while a select few become (even) more wealthy. Give it time, you naysayers will come over to our camp in a decade or two if things don’t change. At this point, several of the people I attended high school with who went to work right away instead of earning a college degree earn higher wages than I do.
AGAIN, same comment to you as Bluesky–nobody is keeping you from going to the private section. Go, with our blessing. You are obviously at work and doing your own private commenting on the public’s dime.
XXskier, you (along with the 5 lemmings who actually “liked” your post) might want to take some Windex to your crystal ball. My comment was posted from the comfort of my recliner, as is this one, after a 12-hour workday. Were I to apply your logic, it would suggest that since you posted during the day, you must be either unemployed and living off the tax dollars of hardworking Mainers or independently wealthy and looking down your nose at the peasants of society. Thankfully, I am not like you, so I will acknowledge that I know nothing about you aside from the ignorance and judgmental opinions you have expressed here.
Yeah, right. You posted at 8 am, right after you logged into your computer, which we the Maine taxpayers paid for. Nice to see you logging in from home. Maybe I should see if I can get a subpoena to see where you’re logging in from for misuse of public funds.
Now we can add illiteracy to the list of what we know about xxskier. I did not moan about my paycheck, and I wouldn’t be working there if I felt I was unfairly compensated. I freely acknowledged I have other options. I expressed concern about the effect of an ongoing trend of not ever receiving raises in pay to keep up with the cost of living would have on the workforce. I used my personal experience to demonstrate that the average university worker does not receive an extravagant paycheck as compared to the private sector, though I do agree that upper management is overpaid in both sectors, but I don’t have specifics on their wages to be able to compare public vs. private sector. I do support forgoing raises in a single difficult year. I DO NOT support sneaking in extravagant raises through the back door when the employees hardest hit by inflation struggle to meet their basic needs, especially when a few individuals are receiving raises that exceed the total income of the average university worker. However, I do suspect that you are more interested in being right than in educating yourself and participating in intelligent discussion. You can get as wound up as you want, and if you don’t believe what I have told you, I don’t really care. If you want to waste your time on a wild goose chase, go right ahead. I would say that the income you lose trying to prove some stranger on the internet wrong instead of being “self-employed” is about what you deserve.
Unlike you, who gets a paycheck from the State of Maine and then moans about it, there ARE some of us who run our own business.
my husband works for the state and hasn’t had a raise in 4 + years, but the cost of insurance keeps going up and up and up…
Not to mention the cost of taxes, fees, licenses, groceries, permits, and every other cost, such as utilities and gasoline.
And we wonder why going to school is so damn expensive!…And…Out of reach for many!
It isn’t the raises causing the absurd cost of education. Government student loans are what has driven up the cost of college. Guaranteed money from the government always drives up the cost no matter what it’s for.
Agreed that government student loans are driving up the cost of college education by distorting the market for education. The colleges continue to drive up costs so that students will take out more student loans to pay the cost. Funny how the colleges are always railing against the evils of the free market, but they sure want to act like free marketers and charge whatever the distorted market will bear when it they who are setting the prices. Not much sharing of the wealth with the students where the colleges are concerned.
I wish people would take the time to get the facts before posting comments on matters that they know nothing about. Case in point, your comments about federal student loans driving up the cost of higher education, you are just repeating talking points generated by the right in their effort to make accessibility to higher education impossible for many Americans. The federal student loan programs have annual limits on the amounts students can borrower and they have been consistent for a number of years. For example a dependent undergraduate student can borrow a maximum of 3500.00 for the first year of school in the subsidized Stafford loan program. They can also borrow and additional 2000.00 in the unsubsidized Stafford loan program for a total of 5500 as a first year student. 5500 accounts for around 25% of the annual cost associated with attending any of the 4 year public institutions whose cost range between 19,000 and 23,000. The percentage is even smaller at many privates where cost exceeds 40,000 annually. To blame the availability of the federal student loan programs for the rising cost of higher education is silly. The costs for higher education institutions are going up for the same reasons they are going up for other business; increased health care cost; increased materials and supplies cost; increased employment related expenses; increased fuel cost etc etc etc…
“I wish people would take the time to get the facts before posting comments on matters that they know nothing about. ”
-Take your own advice. You rambled a whole paragraph explaining how student loans work rather than countering my argument of how they have driven up the cost of education. Why don’t you explain how my accusation is wrong. Explain to me how guaranteed money from the government doesn’t takes away an institutions incentive to spend wisely and provide a product at a reasonable cost. Any entity that doesn’t have to rely on be held accountable in order to receive funds has no incentive to provide a good product. Look at government agencies, they provide terrible service at and exorbitant rate. Nothing the government does or get’s involved with doesn’t end up decreasing in quality while increasing in price. Why don’t YOU lay out some facts how my argument is wrong?
“To blame the availability of the federal student loan programs for the rising cost of higher education is silly. ”
-How so? Just because you say it is?
” The costs for higher education institutions are going up for the same
reasons they are going up for other business; increased health care
cost; increased materials and supplies cost; increased employment
related expenses; increased fuel cost etc etc etc…”
-Those are all factors as well. Those are caused by a federal reserve devaluing the dollar, but I suppose you would blame it on greedy corporations.
” just repeating talking points generated by the right”
-you are nothing but a partisan mouthpiece considering I’m not for the right or left. I think for myself thank you.
Let me turn that around, instead of just saying the federal loan programs are responsible for tuition increase, please explain to me how a program, that at best, provides 25% of a one year’s total cost of attendance (for a first year student) attributes to the rising cost of higher education? Your argument might have some merit if a student could borrow the total amount necessary to pay for their entire cost from the federal loan programs, which as I indicated they cannot. The point I was making is that the amounts students can borrower are fixed within the law and will not rise as tuition increases.
“provides 25% of a one year’s total cost of attendance”
That is untrue. I borrowed not only the total amount of my tuition I also had to borrow money to live off of while in school. I borrowed from the government, my school and used up all of my available “grant” monies. I’m not sure where you are getting your figures, but I am living proof that today a student needs to borrow more than 25% of their tuition. Where do you think the other 75% comes from? Out of pocket? hahahaaaaa! yeeeaaah. k.
people in academia live in a surreal world where they do not think or know what the common folk experience. In the private sector over the last decade it is common to take on additional responsibilities when people leave without added pay – they call it growth opportunity. Bunch of phonies living the high life off of the tax rolls and tution payments
Of course these people offered to give their raises back. $18,000 is no small amount, I don’t care who you are. I doubt that many people would be willing to give up even a .25 or $1.00 raise. Let’s tone down the criticism here.
They were not given a choice. The other raises will also likely follow, in short order.
Education is hard work, never let your jealousy show.
I can’t believe what this country has come to, attacking its teachers at all levels.
Meanwhile Republicans absolutely deny that global warming is human-caused, even though 97% of scientists say it is:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/11/public-learning-scientists-agree-on-climate-a-game-changer/1#.T3SLn_nLuVo
Nobody is attacking teachers! People are fed up with tone deaf officials who don’t seem to understand that this nation is in the midst of an economic crisis. Furthermore, global warming is a lie. The lead scientist has already admitted that the numbers were bogus and that the weather, looked at over the long term, undergoes cycles of heating and cooling which are totally unrelated to anything humans do or don’t do. You can’t believe everything you read in USA Today.
I agree with you on some things. Global warming ? We do know of can not prove anything. Study the sunspot cycles. The sun dose not burn at a constant never has never will. I do not deny global warming just no prof . We do not even have prof oil is a fossil fuel. Could be a republican plan to make more money for big oil. You have some very valid points . I just do not buy global warming should be are biggest concern. World changes always had always will. In the 70s it was global cooling we were worried about .
It does appear on the face of things, that the UMS system is top-heavy with administrators. Half of the job titles don’t even give you a clue as to the function. The faculty, the teachers and assistants, the clerical folks inputting data and grades, the basic running of the schools, deserve the pay. Getting an education is what it is about. Then you read about a basketball coach getting $90,000 a year, and another one scouting Europe for more team members, and you might think an educational center has lost its way.
Libs never seem to want to speak about the high cost of ‘Big Education.’ And why? Because ‘Big Education’ is their FRIEND; their Pals.
“Caswell’s increased duties included leading high-level campus task forces, taking on responsibility for coordinating internal communications, coordinating community events on campus and providing strategic counsel to the president, he said last week.”
What incredible gobbledy-gook. READ: $18,000 pay raise for NOTHING.
Come on folks………..how about the rest of you joining in? There are plenty more making extreme money within the UM system that should be giving some of it up!!
I am all for that money going to raises – I just think it should cover cost of living, starting with the lowest wage earners first. They are the ones most critically impacted by inflation.
They were 2nd and 3rd? Who the heck got the biggest raise and why didnt they offer to give it back?
I believe the “who” answer can be found in the original story about the raises:
“Monique LaRocque, USM’s executive director of university outreach,
received a $34,515 raise this year under the program — a 41 percent
increase over her previous salary. She now makes $118,000 a year.”
Wow. Her raise is more than my salary.
Yes, big money.
She must be very important, unlike me or ………….
Plain folks.
http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.194524524.jpg
Maine’s Official Candy — “The Fat Cat Cluster.”
It appears that USM is home to another version, like MTA and MSHA.
EXACTLY!!
Shocked, Bangorian. Shocked and impressed!
Did Bruce Andrews get a raise? that is the most important question.
Obama handed out over 1 Trillion dollars for student loans from the tax payers pockets (yours and mine). Students took advantage of the opportunity, but can you believe now private collection agencies have been asked to help collect those debts for Obama? They have even gone as far as to repo cars to pay back loans. Be careful who is baring the gifts and accepting those gifts. It may come back to get you….Thanks Obama for putting our students in that position.
Obama gave 1 Trillion dollars to student loans from our tax dollars (your & mine) to entice students to take out large loans that they cant repay. Now Obama is having private collection agencies go out to retrieve the funds. This include them reposessing the cars of these students. Be careful what is being handed to you from campaine promises. Our students are now paying a big price due to big promises.
This is a good start. Now,who are the folks who voted for the pay increase ? These are the one’s who apparently don’t have a clue and need to find a different board to sit on. Truly amazing.
My question is why they thought granting this size pay increase was appropriate in the first place, given the state of the economy!
If we are going to be this restrictive about salaries in public higher education, I would like to see an equally restrictive policy toward salaries in the private banking sector. Because the banking sector received substantial financial assistance during the economic crisis, the large money center banks should voluntarily agree that NO EMPLOYEE including the CEO of the bank be paid more than $350,000 in total salary and benefits per year for the next five years. This restriction would allow the banks to hire a large number of new employees at salaries of $350,000 or less and, I am sure, would not lower the performance of senior bank managers since senior bank executives making tens of millions of dollars per year admitted during the economic crisis that they didn’t really understand how many of their investments actually worked!
“This has been a powerful reminder of how deeply people feel about the University of Southern Maine and its importance to the future of individual students, their families, and this state,” Botman wrote.
No, Ms. Botman, it’s about elaborate or excessive pay raises in hard times when most companies are implementing hiring freezes,pay freezes,layoffs,not matching 401k,decreasing or not paying part or full healthcare benefits,heating oil is high,gas is high,groceries have
gone up, and most people are just plain frustrated! Same reason it’s frustrating to see BIG OIL
having record profits,CEO’s of major companies and banks making over the top paychecks in tough times when companies are supposedly not profiting.
I received a 2 % raise after working 10 years………. mabe i need to have a discussion with my employer.
nice of her to send it via email and not in person……..guess it was not big deal