With three UW System chancellors leaving for better-paying positions within the past year, educators say Wisconsin is not offering enough financial incentives to retain qualified college administrators.

UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley and UW-Parkside Chancellor Jack Keating are retiring, but the chancellors at UW-River Falls, UW-Green Bay and UW-Whitewater have left for different universities.

Donald Betz, chancellor at UW-River Falls, said he was going to Northeastern State University in Oklahoma in part because he worked there for more than 23 years.

However, he said the other reason was because NSU offered a better overall compensation and salary package. “It is pretty well known that the current salaries that chancellors are making in the state are not competitive nationally,” Betz said.

He said the offer, along with other proposals from different schools earlier in the year, was unsolicited.

Martha Saunders, former UW-Whitewater chancellor, left the state in May 2007 to move to the University of Southern Mississippi. According to Betz, Saunders made the move for both personal and financial reasons.

The UW System Board of Regents voted in February to increase the salary ranges for chancellors at Wisconsin’s four-year campuses. Betz said he appreciated the move and UW System President Kevin Reilly supports efforts to retain administrators.

According to Betz, other colleges recognize the quality of employees in the UW System and it would not be surprising to see other chancellors leave.

Lou LeCalsey, chair of the UW-Green Bay Council of Trustees, said he was “absolutely certain” financial aspects of the offer played some role in UW-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard leaving for Western Washington University.

He said it is not a coincidence so many chancellors are leaving at the same time.

LeCalsey said UW-Green Bay is still able to attract qualified candidates, but it is harmful to campuses to have a high turnover rate in administrators.

Scott Hildebrand, executive assistant for the UW-Green Bay chancellor, said Shepard also taught in the Pacific Northwest for most of his career, which likely influenced his decision. He said the financial package offered was a factor in Shepard’s decision.

Biddy Martin, provost at Cornell University, has been recommended as the next chancellor at UW-Madison, and Robert Felner, dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville, has been recommended for UW-Parkside.