By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
A quorum of Eastern Washington board of trustees members met the morning of July 18 for brief discussion and approval of three amendments to university President Rodolfo Arevalo's four-year contract, which included two salary adjustments and arrangements to open a university-owned deferred compensation account not vested until the president has fulfilled four years of service at EWU.
The boards' final approval extends the president's contract through 2010.
The amendments came following an evaluation of the president's performance since Arevalo, EWU's 25th president, was hired in April 2006, and a review of the tentative goals for the university outlined in its new strategic plan, updated and approved last year.
Board member Gordon Budke said the process of evaluation was extensive and that the board was pleased with Arevalo's first-year performance, which they felt was reflective with the level of progress the university is making in terms of its goals.
“We look forward to working with Dr. Arévalo and the University as we achieve more of our goals,” Budke said.
The first amendment item approved by the board was base salary increase of $10,000 effective immediately. This is a common change for a university to implement following the hiring of a new president that typically begins his or her term at a lower base salary, media and communications specialist for the university Dave Meany said.
“It's not uncommon for a president's contract to be amended like that when they're hired at base salary. There's contingency based upon the board's discretion to give the president a raise if their expectations [on performance] are met,” Meany said. “
A second adjustment approved was a 3.2 cost-of-living salary increase to the president's salary, effective Sept. 1, 2007, which is part of the standard COLA adjustment allotted to all university personnel each year.
The third amendment to the contract was approval to start payments into a deferred compensation account set up through the university, which the president will receive once the remaining three years of his contract are met. The board shal determine the amount of contributions made to the account during this time.
The account goes into effect on Aug. 30, 2007, and the president shall be eligible to receive compensation in 2010.
Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]
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