CFA Works with Lawmaker on Bill to Limit CSU Executive Pay

Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens on Wednesday introduced CFA-sponsored Assembly Bill 1831, which would limit the pay California State University (CSU) executives receive, generally preventing executives from getting raises when student tuition increases, and require the Board of Trustees to repeal recently approved executive raises.

The bill seeks to cap the pay of CSU administrators, managers, and contractors at 125% of the pay the California governor receives. The governor currently makes $245,929 annually, so the bill would prevent them from making more than $307,411 annually.

If passed, the bill would also generally prevent trustees from increasing the pay of CSU administrators, managers, and contractors during any fiscal year in which they authorize an increase in student tuition.

“The CSU Board of Trustees recently voted on massive salary increases for campus presidents and vice chancellors, meanwhile we have faculty who are literally living in their cars while working full time,” said Margarita Berta-Ávila, CFA president and Sacramento State professor. “We need this bill to pass so that we can ensure public dollars are funding the CSU classrooms, not the boardroom.”

The bill would require trustees to repeal a November 2025 resolution increasing executive compensation for many campus presidents on or before July 1, 2027. As an example, the resolution brought Cal Poly San Luis Obispo President Jeffrey Armstrong’s compensation to $611,203 in base pay. This was a 20% base increase of $101,867 that does not include his CSU-provided housing, $12,000 annual car allowance, or eligibility to receive a 15% at-risk performance pay.

Despite facing criticism for these campus president raises, trustees approved executive pay increases yet again in January. This time they gave vice chancellors raises, bringing the highest paid vice chancellor to an annual base salary of $466,400 and the lowest paid to $368,433.

Meanwhile, the lowest-paid full-time lecturer makes only $66,000 a year, but many lecturers are not full-time and make less than half that amount. Instead of giving faculty real raises, CSU management recently proposed giving a paltry one-time bonuses equal to 3% of an employee’s salary.

But it’s not just the pay disparities between administration and faculty. The CSU continues to raise tuition by 6% every year. Trustees in 2023 approved a plan to increase tuition by 6% a year through the 2028-29 school year.

Kat Anderson, a Chico State master’s student and Students for Quality Education (SQE) intern, also supports the executive compensation bill.

“The main goal of a learning institution should be to better society through the education and advancement of its students, not to extract from those students to add luxury to its administrators,” Anderson said. “Those that work for the CSU should identify with that mission and not make exuberant amounts of money at a direct cost to the students that they’re meant to serve. Similarly, if the CSU is making decisions influenced by austerity, such as cuts to employment opportunities, student services, and programs, then the trustees should not approve executive compensation increases.”

The last day for the state Assembly and Senate to pass bills is August 31.