Cal Poly president may get pay raise

July 20, 2015

Cal State University trustees are considering a new pay agreement that would boost Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s salary, which already exceeds $350,000. [Press Telegram]

On Tuesday, Cal State trustees will decide whether to grant 2 percent raises to campus presidents and other executives in the CSU system. Chancellor Timothy White, who would receive a 2 percent raise, is recommending that the board of trustees approve the pay increases.

Armstrong is the highest paid university president in the CSU system, according to Transparent California, a database of public employee salaries and benefits. Armstrong is the third highest paid employee in the entire Cal State system.

In 2014, Armstrong received a salary of just above $360,000, according to Transparent California. The Cal Poly foundation pays a small portion of his salary.

Armstrong’s total compensation in 2014 was just under $460,000. In 2014-2015, CSU executives received a 3 percent raise.

In May, Cal Poly faculty members protested the discrepancy in pay between university administrators and professors. The Cal Poly faculty union said university spending on administrators increased by 43 percent between 2010 and 2014.

At the protest, the union delivered a letter to Armstrong calling for any future pay hikes for administrators to trigger matching increases for faculty members.

In response, Armstrong said $2.5 million were set aside for pay increases over the next four years. But, Armstrong said the funds would not cover raises for every faculty group each year, and the university would begin by giving pay increases to the staff members who need them the most.