Interim Merced College presidency comes with $50,000-per-year raise

A contract approved this week pays Merced College interim President Susan Walsh at a rate of about $50,000 more a year than she was making last year as the campus librarian, according to records.

The college board of trustees approved the contract, which retroactively goes back to July 1, on a 5-1 vote during a closed session Tuesday. Trustee Cindy Lashbrook voted “no” and Trustee Gary Arzamendi, who has family ties to Walsh, abstained from voting.

The new contract pays Walsh at a rate of $200,000 a year and continues until 30 days after the the next full-time president begins work on campus, according to records.

As library resources director last year, Walsh made $151,613 plus benefits, according to Transparent California, a website that tracks public employee pay and pensions.

Walsh noted that she continued to receive her librarian salary through June. She told the Sun-Star she has no intention to become the permanent president of the college.

“I’m ready to leave the college and I’m trying to do as good a job as I can as long as I’m here,” she said on Thursday.

She noted her age, 63, as a clear sign she intends to retire, saying the college wants a full-time president who can realistically serve for five to 10 years. She also has submitted a letter of her intent to retire after the next president comes on board, she said.

The college is in the process of recruiting candidates for the permanent position and is scheduled to announce its selection in December, according to a timeline posted on the college’s website. The new president would begin his or her role in January 2017, it says.

Though it amounts to a raise for Walsh, her new contract is $19,000 less than former President Ron Taylor made in salary in 2015, according to Transparent California. Taylor was placed on leave without explanation in January, and continued to be paid through June 30, according to school officials.

Walsh has been the temporary head of the college since Feb.1 and a number of changes have made their way to the board of trustees since then. The latest potential changes came before the board Tuesday, when the college leaders presented new positions and the shuffling of duties through a reorganization.

After push back against the idea, the board unanimously agreed to hold off on reorganization until more information could be gathered.

The plan would create positions for a college farm director, a vice president of human resources and an executive assistant to the president. During the meeting, Lashbrook said she does not oppose the plan outright, but said it needs further study.

For example, she noted, the plan presented to the board includes no costs for the new positions. “Interim presidents are placeholders,” she said Tuesday. “This is more of a reorganization than we allowed Dr. Taylor to do within his whole first year.”

Merced College Faculty Association President Patrick Mitchell, who was also at the meeting, said a reorganization of that kind would typically be reviewed by other campus constituent groups. He said he had not heard of the planned changes until the agenda for the night’s meeting was made public.

Arzamendi also supported holding off on the reorganization, hinting at the division on the board and recent controversial decisions. “I would really like to see our college come together on these types of decisions,” he said. “Everyone knows what’s going on. Everybody’s aware.”

Arzamendi’s sister, Rita, is married to Walsh’s brother, Hub, who is also Merced County supervisor for District 2.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Interim Merced College presidency comes with $50,000-per-year raise."