Dear President Gonzalez and the Sacramento State campus community,
On March 2, more than 150 students, staff and faculty met to discuss the budget situation and our campus climate. In the 90-minute meeting, there were many suggestions for how the campus might mitigate our perilous budget situation and maximize the ability for faculty and staff to deliver a high quality curriculum to our students. This is the core mission of the California State University and we must protect instruction as we consider the fiscal realities of the State.
In the past two years the CSU administration has given $6.5 million in raises to managers while denying salary increases to faculty and staff and increasing student tuition. Furthermore, the administration has opposed an oil and gas severance tax that would support public higher education as well as Sen. Leland Yee's transparency bill. We believe that these actions erode the core mission of the university, and we call on you to take a public stand in support of the student, staff and faculty concerns.
In light of recent and proposed budget cuts, we, the faculty, students and staff of Sac State demand that the president take the following actions to minimize the impact on our students' educations:
1. No increases in managerial salaries or positions until faculty and staff receive general salary increases, student tuition is rolled back, and faculty and staff positions are restored. We demand that you publicly reject any salary increases for yourself or other managers, and forego the housing and car allowances &- giving it to student scholarships instead.
2. Publicly support an oil extraction fee that is dedicated to support higher education.
3. Make good on your promise of 2006-07 to achieve salary equity for associate and full professors as promised prior to the last contract.
4. Open the University Enterprises, Inc. books to faculty and the public. This money is generated by the faculty, staff, students and the public, and must not be hidden. Publicly support Yee's CSU Auxiliary transparency bill (SB 8).
We call on you, President Alexander Gonzalez, to publicly address these demands to the campus community prior to the April 13 gathering of students, staff, and faculty in the Library Quad at 12:30 p.m.
Signed, Professor Kevin Wehr on behalf of concerned faculty, staff and students at CSUS.
Kevin Wehr, California Faculty Association Capitol Chapter president and associate
sociology professor.
