Recent news coverage and editorial opinions have suggested that the University of Wisconsin system must increase the salaries of its chancellors statewide. Writers imply that the departure of six campus chancellors the past year was due to their sub-national-average salaries.
For example, Bruce Shepard, who earned about $210,000 at UW-Green Bay, has taken a position at Western Washington University for more than $300,000. Similar salary increases were in store for the other campus chancellors who left the UW system this past year. Proponents of higher salaries suggest that greater pay will somehow improve retention of our chancellors.
But consider another distinct possibility. Perhaps after 6-8 years leading a specific campus, a chancellor will look for a new challenge no matter what his or her salary.