Monday's announcement that the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system gave its top executive a raise and a new, three-year contract — last October — drew criticism from a top lawmaker and the union that represents the faculty at seven state universities.
Chancellor Steven Rosenstone will make $387,250 in base salary for the coming school year, a 1.8 percent increase. He also will receive a $43,160 boost to allowances for transportation and other expenses, MnSCU said.
A professor sent the contract to the media Friday. On Monday, MnSCU sent out a news release "due to interest from the media," a spokesman said.
Clarence Hightower, chairman of the MnSCU board of trustees, negotiated the agreement. He said that after the board in June unanimously gave him the authority to negotiate with Rosenstone, it did not vote on the final deal — but there was "not an expectation that it would."
"It's the same process we used three years ago when we hired Chancellor Rosenstone," he said. There was no vote, news release or announcement then, either, he said.
Hightower said that some board members "learned as late as yesterday" about the signed contract.
Rep. Gene Pelowski, chair of the House higher education committee, blasted MnSCU leaders for settling Rosenstone's contract while testy negotiations with the universities' faculty union drag on.
Those leaders promised lawmakers during the last legislative session that if they approved $17 million for the system, the contract for those 4,000 faculty members would be settled "within days," said Pelowski, D-Winona.