The Chico State administration is in the process of creating a plan to comprehensively reorganize the academic structure of the university. There has been no mention of salaries for top-level administrators in the reorganization models presented so far.

The Orion does not have access to all the information that would be necessary to provide an analysis of the work of the university leadership team. We do, however, have access to their compensation information. So, we put together a graphic that presents that information, along with some context regarding the academic restructuring project, as well as the presidential compensation dynamic at other state universities.

The round two organizational models presented by Provost Leslie Cornick contain one main element of data. That is the annual net savings that each model would provide based on “position reductions” and the replacement of dean and academic department chair positions with directors.

Salaries are negotiated at the CSU system level, not the campus level.

Chico State President Steve Perez spoke at length about budget concerns during his state of the university address in February. The university is expected to face a $32 million deficit for the 2025-26 academic year and an overall loss from the 2024-25 year of approximately $8 million, according to his presentation.

The university has the savings to absorb that deficit. It boasted a reserve budget of $203 million, as of June 30, 2024.

“We have reserves; we have reserves because of good budgeting and good work long before I got here,” Perez said.

The reimagining academic affairs website states that “the initiative is not budget-driven, it integrates responsible resource management to achieve meaningful and lasting impact.”

According to reporting by The Orion academic affairs team, Cornick presented three pillars for the restructuring initiative; drive enrollment growth, reduce deficit and future forward. Despite the original assertion that the restructuring is not budget-driven, messaging from the provost would seem to suggest that fiscal concerns are paramount.

Many students have concerns with how the restructuring may negatively impact the educational process. They have expressed discontent with the lack of transparency and communication from the provost.

When asked for a comment, Chico State President Steve Perez said, “I don’t believe it’s very productive to be divisive and talk about people on campus in different ways…when we try to separate each other and treat each other differently, I don’t believe that moves us forward in a constructive way in trying to attack the challenges we have going forward, and so I’m not interested in looking at any individual salaries.”

Editors Note: This story was updated at 4 p.m. Thursday to include comment from Chico State President Steve Perez.

Sean Shanks can be reached at orionmanagingeditor@gmail.com.