  So I've been relatively stagnant for over a month.  Happy Holidays!  At least I hope they were happy.  Here I am,  back at school,  which seems to be my favorite place to be these days.
 Let's see how this semester goes.  The education system in Arizona seems to be in a bit of confusion and turmoil.  I'm re- running an article written by Amy Silverman of the Phoenix New Times to shed a little light on some other things happening here,  as well as my response to Amy,  which was published in the New Times a couple of issues later.
 Raising Arizona State ASU honchos enjoy pay increases of nearly a quarter of a million dollars BY AMY SILVERMAN At a time when officials were leaving faculty positions vacant,  firing secretaries and talking about raising tuition as much as $ 1, 000 per student,  top executives at Arizona State University were getting hefty raises.  And President Michael Crow was getting ready to redecorate his office.
 Between September and October of last year,  nine ASU honchos were given salary increases totaling close to a quarter of a million dollars.  The raises were part of a reorganization of university senior administration,  says ASU spokeswoman Nancy Neff.  She says the university surveyed comparable positions nationally and adjusted salaries to the midrange of the findings.  Too bad ASU isn't making the same comparisons -
 and adjustments -  when it comes to faculty.  In fact,  according to figures provided by Neff,  ASU is rapidly losing tenured professors,  and the student-
to- faculty ratio is increasing.  The university was well aware of this in September,  when it started handing out executive raises.  This past summer,  ASU eliminated about 75 faculty positions -
 twice as many as the previous year -  in response to budget cuts.  About 40 clerical positions also were axed.  But in December,  the cuts grew much deeper when the Legislature met for a much- anticipated special session to address a huge shortfall.
 A document provided by Neff details more than $ 16 million in midyear budget cuts designed to satisfy the Legislature's demands.  Research facilities and libraries will be hit hard.  There is no mention of eliminating those executive raises -  or eliminating any executive positions -  but instead the memo details further faculty cuts.
 In the 1990s,  ASU's student- to- faculty ratio climbed from 26: 1 to 31: 1.
 As enrollment climbs,  the number of faculty hired will drop,  increasing that ratio.  The December round of cuts,  for example,  will force vacancies in 28 faculty positions.
 ASU officials voice concern in the memo,  explaining that the use of part- time and temporary faculty has increased alarmingly,  and that students are complaining that they can't schedule classes at convenient times,  which could increase the time it takes them to graduate.  The memo also says that under the present budget cuts,
 the ratio of students to academic advisers will increase to 500: 1.  Neff did not say whether the executive salary increases were in reaction to Crow's hiring salary last summer,  which at $ 390, 000 forced the Arizona Board of Regents to increase the salaries of presidents at Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.
 ( UofA President Peter Likens gave back his raise.  In a few short months,  Crow -  who came to ASU last summer from Columbia University -  has already earned a reputation for flashy behavior.
 Were it not for bad publicity in ASU's newspaper,  Crow's office would now be in the middle of a $ 200, 000 renovation.  In December,  the State Press broke the news that the university was planning $
3. 6 million in renovations during the winter break,  including redecorating Crow's office.  The school delayed the projects shortly after the State Press story appeared.  In an editorial following the decision,  the paper commented that Crow's office is so outdated "
that there are pinholes in the walls from previous picture frame hangings and tape covering some parts of the carpet.  The air conditioning doesn't blow very well.  " Our response,  says the State Press :  "
Live with it.  " The proposed tuition hike,  supposedly needed because of the state's under funding of public universities,  will take an additional $ 500 to $
1, 000 out of the pockets of students who already can't afford new air conditioning for their used cars.  Many will be forced to drop out of school altogether.  The student paper apparently hadn't caught wind of the executive promotions and raises,  which included:   Milton Glick From:
 Senior Vice President and Provost,  at $ 206, 450 To:  Executive Vice President and Provost,  at $
250, 000  Mernoy Harrison From:  Vice President- Administrative Services,  at $ 157,
700 To:  Executive Vice President- Administration and Finance,  at $ 200, 000  Jonathan Fink From:
 Vice Provost for Research,  at $ 146, 200 To:  Vice President for Research and Economic Affairs,  at $
195, 000  Christine Wilkinson From:  Vice President for Student Affairs,  at $ 154, 650 To:
 Senior Vice President and Secretary to the University,  at $ 190, 000  Charles Backus,  Vice President and Provost- ASU East Campus From:
 $ 153, 450 To:  $ 163, 000 (
This is a retention raise,  to keep him from retiring for another year.   James Rund From:  Associate Vice President/ Dean- Student Affairs,
 at $ 132, 156 To:  Interim Vice President for Student Affairs,  at $ 154,
650  Ray Jensen From:  Executive Director- Purchasing and Business Services,  at $ 112, 049 To:
 Associate Vice President- Administration,  at $ 122, 000  Gerald Snyder From:  Comptroller/
Treasurer,  at $ 109, 578 To:  Associate Vice President- Finance and Treasurer,
 at $ 119, 000  John Riley From:  Associate Director- Purchasing,  at $
80, 230 To:  Director of Purchasing and Business Services,  at $ 90, 000 Neff says many of these raises came with increased responsibilities,
 eliminating,  for example,  the need to create a position for a chief financial officer for economic development.  Now that's a job that,  perhaps,  ASU could really use,
 given the current scramble to make even more cuts,  beginning later this month.  phoenixnewtimes. com |  originally published:  January 2,
 2003 And here's my response:  To hull and back :  Darn,  you're good.  But don't you mean " Razing"
 Arizona State?  You captured some good points,  and it's something everyone here needed to hear.  Although I can attest to the fact that many of the people whose salaries you mentioned do a magnificent job,  it seems that others have taken note of the way ASU wants to ring in the new year:  shifting the burden from the taxpayers to the students.
 In an October letter to Randall Gnant and Jim Wiers,  the outgoing Speaker of the House and president of the Senate,  respectively,  Governor Jane Hull said she didn't want to cut the university's budget more than 5 percent because she didn't want it to directly affect the students.  Wake up and smell the propane,  Jane!
 It's affecting us!  Now we'll have to pay an extra $ 1, 000 in tuition.  At the same time,  Hull said she was only cutting the Arizona Board of Regents' budget by 2 percent because she still wanted to make Arizona's schools appealing.
 Yeah,  that makes a lot of sense.  Now our beloved Dr.  Crow,  ASU's so- called savior,
 is at the mast of this great ship bound for who knows where.  This great ship,  coincidentally losing its " Hull,  is not receiving much support from the state.  The "
Changing Directions"  initiative headlines its proposal by saying it wants to " increase the affordability of higher education"  and " improve the quality of the educational experience.  Oh,
 really?  So make us pay for Dr.  Crow's new office,  let us help pay for the executives' raises,  let us pay $ 1,
000 more a year,  quit watering the grass and let's see where ASU's retention rate goes.  I threw " quit watering the grass"  in there for comedic relief,  but that's true,
 too.  How ironic that we're Sun Devils?  The sun has obviously quit shining on us,  and we're in a hell of a situation.  Name withheld by request ( Ironically,
 I didn't request my name being witheld,  but I thank the New Times nevertheless for doing it.
