Chancellor Donald Mash is not going anywhere – again.

After UW System President Katharine Lyall announced her retirement mid-last week, Rep. Rob Kreibich, R-Eau Claire, commented late last week that Mash would make a good candidate for the position, Mash said Tuesday afternoon.

Although he initially was surprised by Kreibich’s recommendation, Mash said he was flattered to be mentioned as someone who might be able to hold the presidency position.

“I’m not going to be an applicant for the position,” Mash said.

Junior Eric Ristau, a student senator, said there was speculation spreading about whether Mash possibly will apply for Lyall’s position.

“I heard there was a rumor, but we also thought we were going to lose him last year,” said Ristau, in reference to Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s (Mash’s alma mater) search for a new president in May.

When Ristau was told Mash will not be applying for the position, he said it was good news to hear.

“I personally hope he doesn’t leave,” Ristau said.

Mash, who is in his sixth year as chancellor at UW-Eau Claire, said he feels very challenged at Eau Claire and is not aspiring to leave.

“Even if I thought there was a strong enough interest, I’m not sure it’s something I want to do at this stage in my career,” Mash said.

He said it’s very important that the System Board of Regents, who ultimately will hire Lyall’s successor, conducts an extensive national search to try and attract the very best president possible.

“I don’t know what other chancellors in the System might be thinking,” Mash said. “There may be others in the System who are interested.”

When the System finally does hire a new president, it is possible that he or she will have a higher salary than Lyall does, Mash said. Lyall’s salary is $304,980 per year, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

But Mash, whose salary is set at $171,600, according to the System’s 2003-04 Budget, said Lyall’s salary is a “bargain” for what she has accomplished during her presidency.

“About three years ago, President Lyall’s salary was increased to that,” Mash said. “She was underpaid. She wasn’t even in the ballpark. She could have gone anywhere in a minute and doubled her salary.

“These positions are very difficult, very challenging. That’s what very good people command.”

The salary of the next System president all depends on who applies and who is hired, Mash said.

“If you go out and try to hire someone who’s already the president of another system, that person might be making more than President Lyall,” Mash said. “In order to get that person here, you might need to pay the person more.”

Associate Dean of Students Bob Shaw agreed and said the System would not be able to attract someone of highest quality if it were to pay him or her $70,000 per year, for example.

“This is a democracy,” Shaw said. “Salaries for people who are exceptionally talented are set to market.

“It’s market, market, market. It’s an entrepreneurial market,” he said.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the University of Maine System has the lowest presidential salary, standing at $175,000 per year. The University of Michigan System has the highest presidential salary, paying it’s current system president $475,000 per year. A house and a car, along with other compensations, are traditionally included as well.

The employment packages for the System president and chancellors in Wisconsin fall short of those offered in most states, according to the System’s Web site. Only five of 15 chancellors and the System president reside in official university residences. The vehicles used by the System president and the chancellors come from the state vehicle fleet.

Shaw agreed, and said Wisconsin always has been careful about fringe benefits.

The demands of the System president are exceptional, Shaw said, and that is why the salary market is competitive.

“You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,” Shaw said.

Even if the System needs to pay the future president a higher salary than Lyall, Shaw said it will not affect the students.

“I don’t want to sound insensitive, but her salary is not going to have any meaningful effect on the state budget,” Shaw said.

Ristau said although the president’s salary seems like a lot of money to the average student, he isn’t one to say the amount is too much, considering the job the president does.

“I know they do an invaluable service to the System,” Ristau said. “I just hope we can find somebody that would do the job well.”