CFA Statement on Chancellor Select García

Last week, the CSU Board of Trustees named Dr. Mildred García the new chancellor. CFA joins others in congratulating García on her history of breaking barriers in higher education and becoming the first Latina chancellor while also acknowledging her African heritage.

While the CSU Trustees made a historic selection CFA is outraged at the exorbitant salary and compensation package they approved. At the same meeting trustees and administrators discussed putting budget shortfalls on the backs of mostly Black and Brown students with 6% annual fee increases evaluated every five years. Objections from trustees focused on the inconsistency of a large chancellor’s salary while also discussing tuition increases and recognizing the need to pay staff and faculty more.

Garcia’s $795,000 base salary is coupled with $80,000 in annual deferred comp, $12,000 in yearly car allowance, and $96,000 a year in housing allowance. The total is $983,000. The chancellor select’s salary is more than what the President of the United States and Governor of California earn annually, combined, and the salary and total package represent an almost 30% increase from former Chancellor Castro.

We anticipate collaborating with chancellor-select Garcia on our Anti-Racism and Social Justice work to transform the CSU. We expect to hear more from Garcia on her plans to link her interests in accessibility for first-generation college students to issues faced at the CSU. We look forward to her response to our anti-Black racism and other anti-racism and social justice demands articulated in our report, Our Way Forward. As we forge this partnership, CFA is watching closely to ensure the chancellor-select’s actions match her promising words and sentiments on combating anti-Blackness and racism at the CSU and reforming the Title IX process.