Sacramento State University students during a 2013 protest. [Photo courtesy of Matthew Fern]
By Cody Drabble
Sacramento State University gave faculty and staff a long-awaited raise earlier this year. According to spokeswoman Kim Nava, all employees received a 1.34 percent salary boost, the first since 2007. Raises in recent years were limited to faculty only, with a 2 percent bump to professors in 2008, a 0.45 percent boost in 2010, and a flat $80 increase in 2013.
Last November, voters enacted Proposition 30 to increase education funding statewide and give higher education institutions more budget stability, including an extra $125.1 million for the California State University system. About $10 million of that will be earmarked for increasing course availability through technology. Sacramento State spends about two-thirds of its $115 million budget—or $77 million—on academic affairs.
Among the top paid employees, CSU system chancellor Timothy P. White earned more than $426,000 and Sacramento State President Dr. Alexander Gonzalez took home nearly $368,000.
Other big earners include: College of Business Administration Dean Sanjay Varshney ($209,000); departed football coach Marshall Sperbeck ($208,000); Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mingtung Lee ($208,000); Senior Vice President of Planning, Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Lori E. Varlotta ($195,000); and University Enterprises Inc. Executive Director Jim Reinhart ($191,000).
According to the California State Controller’s Office website, Sacramento State employed 5,759 people and paid an average wage of $26,220, not including the cost of healthcare and retirement. The university paid out about $151 million in wages and $49 million in healthcare and retirement in fiscal year 2012, the last year figures were available.
Read more about Sacramento State’s annual budget report here.
