Cal State Chancellor Quits : Trustees Roll Back Pay Raises

W. Ann Reynolds tearfully resigned today as chancellor of the 20-campus California State University rather than face possible firing for her handling of pay raises for herself and top administrators.

Shortly afterward, the Board of Trustees rolled back the raises that had been secretly approved last year.

The controversial salary raises--ranging from 21% to 43%--had created a firestorm of criticism. Reynolds, her staff and the Board of Trustees that governs the State University system have been under intense pressure from legislators and faculty to restore public confidence in the largest system of higher education in the nation.

The chancellor, in the job since 1982, told an emergency meeting of trustees that her resignation would be effective at the end of the year but that she will take a leave starting Oct. 1. Executive Vice Chancellor Herbert L. Carter is to lead the system until a new chancellor is found.

Reynolds began sobbing after reading her resignation statement to the board. Later, talking with reporters, she struggled to keep her composure as she said there was no direct link between her decision and the sharp rebukes she received from trustees on Thursday about the raises.

“Eight years in one of these jobs is a long time . . . ,” said Reynolds, 52. ‘I think it’s my honest belief that it’s time for another energetic person.”

A biologist, Reynolds has the option of taking a Cal State professorship.

Despite Reynolds’ statement, most other knowledgeable sources described the resignation as a face-saving device. “Rather than a vote of no-confidence, a better outcome was arranged,” said Ray Geigle, chairman of the systemwide Academic Senate, a faculty group.

Some insiders complained that Reynolds was the sacrificial lamb offered to appease angry legislators but that blame for the controversy should be shared by trustees and Reynolds’ top aides.

The trustees voted unanimously this morning to rescind the Jan. 1 raises, which had boosted Reynolds’ salary 43% from $136,248 last year to $195,000. They also rescinded those of the six vice chancellors and 20 campus presidents, whose increases ranged from 21% to 28%. Instead, those salaries will go up 4.18%, reflecting the average raise for faculty and other staff.

The board also promised to hold public discussions about whether executive pay in the State University system is not competitive nationally--as Reynolds’ staff contended.

Reynolds’ credibility was damaged by the recent disclosure that she had promised legislators in 1984 that future actions on executive pay would be taken in public. However, she and her staff told trustees last year to make the decisions in private to avoid the raises becoming an issue in negotiations with faculty and staff unions. Reynolds said she had forgotten about that earlier pledge and apologized.