Senator James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) announced he will introduce legislation aimed at curbing excessive compensation packages for State University of New York (SUNY) leadership. The move follows this week’s appointment of SUNY Chancellor John King, who will receive $750,000 annually, a paid residence in Albany, an additional New York City housing stipend, a monthly travel stipend, a private driver, and a university-owned vehicle or monthly car allowance. King has also been awarded a full SUNY professorship, though it is unclear whether he will earn additional compensation for this post.
Former SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras and Interim Chancellor Deborah Stanley received base salaries of $450,000 and $500,000 respectively.
“At a time when New Yorkers are having to make difficult decisions about whether to take on crippling student debt to attend our public universities, the SUNY board-approved compensation package awarded to our new Chancellor is a slap in the face,” said Skoufis. “While legislators shouldn’t be in the business of telling our educators how to do their jobs, we sure as heck should be involved in calling out wasteful taxpayer spending when we see it.”
“I respect the difficult challenges our new Chancellor will face in transforming the SUNY system in the months and years ahead, but we can all agree that this compensation package is an outrage,” added Skoufis.
SUNY enrollment has fallen by more than 20% over the past decade.