An alternative view of pay raises at YSU

An alternative view of pay raises at YSU
EDITOR:
Your Sept. 29 editorial on compensation at Youngstown State University covered a lot of points. I will reply to three.
1. You bemoaned the tuition increases at YSU in recent years. In the first place, tuition increases are necessary to offset a pattern of reduced state support for YSU and other public universities. When I arrived at YSU in 1969, the state provided 72 percent of the YSU operating budget. Currently the state provides approximately 45 percent of the YSU operating budget and projections for next year are for a drop to approximately 35 percent. This pattern of reduced state support is systemic in higher education in the nation. In the second place, tuition increases rarely close off access. Various forms of financial aid provided by YSU, the YSU Foundation, and state and federal programs cushion the shock of increased fees. Interestingly, recent enrollment gains at YSU and other universities have taken place amid rising fees.
2. You object to YSU employees earning salaries that are competitive with faculty at other institutions because of the condition of the local economy. Right now YSU has a strong faculty precisely because YSU is competitive in the marketplace in most disciplines. As chair of a YSU academic department for 17 years, I have seen first hand that competitive salaries attract strong applicants. What would happen to the local economy if YSU followed the proposed cheap labor policy and put a brake on faculty compensation? YSU would fail to recruit highly qualified faculty and our programs and our reputation would suffer. Students and their families would vote with their feet. If you think the economy here is sluggish now, imagine what it would be after YSU becomes a pale imitation of itself.
3. You object to recent enhancements in the compensation package of the university president as extravagant and untimely. The recent enhancements hardly make our president stick out in the state or the region. His compensation is competitive but certainly not exorbitant for a job that requires the mix of skills of a university president in fund-raising, lobbying, public relations, program development, budget development and administration, physical plant development, enrollment enhancement, alumni relations, and others. Also, capping the president's compensation now will not only demoralize him but it will have an unintended effect of setting an uncompetitive starting salary for his successor when the next presidential search occurs, thereby making the position unattractive to many of the strongest potential candidates.
THOMAS A. SHIPKA, Ph.D.
Youngstown
X The writer is professor and chair of the department of philosphy and religious studies at YSU.
And then there's thisview of YSU raises
EDITOR:
I would like to add a few figures to those presented in your Sept. 29 editorial regarding the pay increase approved for YSU President Dr. David Sweet.
In reviewing the current faculty salary list, I found no fewer than 99 faculty members (approximately 25 percent of the full-time faculty) whose annual salary is less than Dr. Sweet's new housing allowance alone.
As for the president's regular salary, it is now 3.35 times the average faculty salary at YSU. Include the housing allowance and the car allowance, and the total package is 4.29 times the average faculty salary, according to my calculations.
In one of your earlier editorials, you accused the faculty and the negotiations fact-finder of having a & quot;skewed view & quot; of the world. If you really want some skewed views, just examine the figures above.
BOB HOGUE
Boardman
X The writer is an associate professor of computer science and information systems at YSU.
Short and sweet
EDITOR:
Sweets for Mr. Sweet, and how sweet it is. $260,720.
Sweet's pay raise comes at a time when YSU could have a $1.8 million budget shortfall this year because of state budget cuts. According to YSU trustees, Sweet's pay raise will show Sweet that university officials appreciate his work. After all, he has continually increased the cost of tuition.
To put it short and sweet, the YSU Trustees have forgotten that they are there to help students attain their education, not to recognize and reward top administrators!
NANCY FALGIANI
Boardman
Democrats in Baghdad are a sign of the times
EDITOR:
Our fearless Democratic representatives in the persons of McDermott (Washington) and Bonior (Michigan) have traveled to Baghdad, Iraq (Yes, that Iraq) in order to provide propaganda for Sadaam Hussein. McDermott (from Baghdad) states that our president has been "misleading" the American public. I think McDermott has been misleading us. I thought he was an American and not a latter-day Jane Fonda. Bonior and McDermott's conduct has been despicable and no amount of spinning will change that.
They do, however, represent (accurately) much of the National Democratic Party with respect to a possible (I would say inevitable) war with Iraq. They are against it but they sense that the majority of the American people (surprise, surprise) are with the president on this issue. But, rather than actually debate the issues of war, peace, appeasement, doing nothing, the Democrats, with a few honorable exceptions (Sen. Leiberman) want to be on all sides of the issue. Even The New Republic in a recent editorial castigated the National Democratic Party and its "leading lights" for obviously harboring severe reservations about the president's position on war with Iraq, but not having the intestinal fortitude to actually debate the issue and (heaven forbid!) go on record.
The Democratic Party as represented by Bonior and McDermott has fallen to new lows (both politically and morally) unimaginable even a decade ago. Does anyone remember when the Democratic Party had a significant and responsible foreign policy wing? It was represented by (irony) Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington State. From Jackson to McDermott, the "beat goes on," or does it just go lower?
RICHARD R. THOMPSON
Ellwood City
Think positive, Bertram
EDITOR:
Mr. Bertram de Souza, in Sunday's Vindicator, has a right to support Ann Womer Benjamin, but he should do it forthright and not use negative remarks regarding the Democratic nominee, Timothy Ryan. Remember, negative thought bring negative results.
Also, he should not infer that the blind do not have any vision or lack leadership. He should be more sensitive to all of his readers. Tim Ryan has a vision for the Mahoning Valley, and it is positive. Positive thoughts bring positive results.
Lately, I've been working closely with my fellow senior citizens and we feel your poll is wrong and that Tim Ryan is going to win by over 55 percent and then his record will speak for itself.
THOMAS P. GILMARTIN Sr.
Retired state legislator
Youngstown