Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, public relations • March 24th, 2008

Who wants to be a chancellor?

by Chris Lato

I saw this article on the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal Sunday and thought to myself: someone’s working overtime to put a positive spin on the UW Chancellor salary issue.

The President of the United States is paid $400,000 a year, with another $50,000 a year for expenses. (When the president travels to meet with foreign dignitaries, does he have to pick up the check a lot?)

The next UW-Madison chancellor will be paid between $370,000 to $452,000. Yup, more than the leader of the free world. Am I crazy, or does that seem awfully high? (Full disclosure alert: I’m a UW-Madison graduate, and yes, it was generally a fine education.)

No doubt the chancellor is a busy guy. It sounds like a big job with long hours, etc., etc. But still…there has been criticism of the pay level that sounds valid to me.

In addition, numerous articles cite UW-Madison’s difficult relationship with the state Legislature, and Wiley is blamed for some of those problems.

Now, before going any further, I should point out that this is not intended as a hit piece. But the article got me thinking about how to navigate the choppy PR waters in a case like this. Fences need to be mended with lawmakers who control the purse strings for the UW System. The public needs to understand just what the job entails, and how important UW-Madison is to higher education in Wisconsin - because that salary will undoubtedly cause sticker shock. Justifying the price tag when Wisconsin is in a budget hole and the economy shows signs of heading into the tank is the biggest challenge. If you can’t do that, you’d better re-think your strategy. Just saying “The chancellor works really hard” won’t cut it.

At any rate, the deadline to apply for the chancellor’s job is Friday, so if you think you have what it takes, get your resume together and good luck!

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