Executive Compensation

CSU chancellors and administrators continue to see pay increases as faculty pay stays stagnant while workload increases, and the cost attendance for students climbs. 

When hired in September 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic in the backdrop, the Board of Trustees awarded incoming Chancellor Joseph I. Castro a salary of $625,000, a 30 percent increase over outgoing Chancellor Timothy White. Remember, Castro still receives thousands of dollars in monthly housing as his lowest paid faculty and staff can’t afford rent.

In October 2020, the Board was at it again, increasing pay by 10 percent over their predecessors for two appointed campus presidents.

All while faculty, staff, and many Californians struggled (and continue to struggle) to keep health insurance or their jobs. During COVID-19, campus administrators laid off many of the CSU’s lowest paid, racially and socioeconomically diverse workers. The fact that trustees felt — and let’s be real, still feel — it is campus presidents experiencing hardships speaks volumes to their priorities. 

This perpetuates existing systemic inequalities when approving exorbitant salaries for presidents.  CFA says enough is enough. Pay increases should go toward staff and faculty, who kept campuses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reward your hard-working employees and freeze pay at the top.