Arkansas Blog

I have occasion to be on the UCA campus several times a week and can confirm it is a going jessie.

Did anyone else notice this story in the Ark D-G. On the same page there was also an article that tuition would be going up at UCA. Someone has to pay for the bonus and I guess it will be the students.

Yep, and the troops in the front lines that actually do the combat (classroom teachers) are accorded nothing. Someday they will name a building after Lu and that should be payment enough. He should divy the landfall $$$$ award up with the PFCs.

I must be missing something. My understanding is the UCA faculty can't abide Hardin. To me, he comes across as a smarmy blowhard whose primary interest is in promoting himself.

How about Lu for LRSD supt. or school board president? I would love to know what he thinks about how this LR mess could be solved.

What a crock...and what a screwing of students/taxpayers! Winfred Thompson, who supposedly left UCA in shambles, left with a half million payoff and raked in money and LCD praise his entire tenure. So I'm not buying the LCD spin regarding Hardin's profiteering. As far as I can recall tuition has increased every year. In 13 some years it's went from around six hundred to almost three thousand a semester. And I can guarantee that incomes in Arkansas have not kept pace...not even close. Contrary to the LCD's spin this is not a fortune 500 corporation; this is a public university in a very poor state. It's ONLY directive is to educate students...as cheaply as quality will allow. It's telling when the state's top elected official doesn't get a fraction of what most of the state's university presidents do...and salaries are just a fraction of the taxpayer-funded perks. Given the amount of state money spent on university administrative salaries, their lobbyists must be damn good.

I went to UCA's graduation Saturday (my son made it through...ya!); and guess who the speaker was...Hardin. You'd think the school could have brought in a different speaker than the same guy the students heard speak on multiple occasions. Plus...I'm not a fan of handing honorary degrees out to dead people.

BTW...for the handful of people who don't know it, the LCD is a cheerleading rag for whoever resides at the top of the city/county's gravy train.

good post Z but the real question remains: How much does the fubal coach get? what's the coach's record?
_

As a UCA Alum I disagree with Zelda. Yes, tuition has increased at UCA, but so has it at every college. Look at book prices. The cost of providing an education is ever increasing.

As the cost of providing an education rises, subsidies from the State do not typically maintain pace. In an interview the president of the University of Michigan referred to his school as being a "state" college in name only as most of the money for operations came from donations and tuition.

Look at UCA enrollment under Lu Harding, skyrocketing.

Colleges award honorary degress to "dead people" all the time.

The benefit to Lu Hardin as the speaker, free.

When you see these great speakers delivering commencent addresses on CNN, keep in mind that they are being paid, often $100,000+ for one day of work.

Also note in the original post that the bonus was paid through the foundation. Some benefactor (maybe Rush Harding) could have ponied up the whole bonus.

LWood - not sure what the football coach's salary is, but he does have a winning record. GO BEARS!

I'm glad Max got the facts about the UCA faculty raises and where Lu's bonus comes from. I would like to know how much money Lu has generated in scholarship, other funds, and increased enrollment. UCA evidently had a great legislative session and that doesn't happen by accident.

I'm a friend of UCA faculty and faculty from other institutions. I can tell you that the UCA back-to-back pay raises are the largest in UCA history. Ask faculty from other institutions about their pay raises and starting salaries. The UCA faculty have a very good relationship with their president.

I think he's a lawyer by trade...he could be making a lot more money than he does at his 24/7 president's job.

What is wrong with getting bonuses for a job more than well done? What a great place to work...you're actually rewarded for your effort and positive outcomes. They just overtook UALR as the 2nd largest university in AR behind UA-F.

UCA is becoming an prestigous option for college students. I'm amazed at what quality, competent leadership can accomplish.

I've never understood why
some think someone should
get a bonus for doing their
job. They get a salary for
that. If they don't like the pay,
then renegotiate.

If you are looking to get rich
or have huge bonuses, you
should be in the private sector.

I'm not arguing that Hardin hadn't
done his job well, but with all
the money they've spent on
advertising, how could they
not grow?

5% raise is a crock. It's 3% with a possibility of 5%. What they don't tell you is that the staff, including many administrative staff, are only getting 2% raises. This is especially disheartening when you consider that many staff are more educated than professors and the fact that cost of living has gone up 3+% this year. So, it's not 5% as everyone is saying and staff - yet again - only get 2%. Good job to Lu for teaching, securing, and servicing all these new students! Well, that's what the board thinks anyway! - and where's the mention of the 300,000 deferred payment Lu is getting in a couple of years?

"...Yes, tuition has increased at UCA, but so has it at every college. Look at book prices. The cost of providing an education is ever increasing."

Arkansas is a poor state that's at the very bottom, income wise. So it's not unreasonable to expect our "state-funded higher education institutions to strive to keep tuitions within reach of the taxpayers who fund them and the students who attend them. Striving to replicate a Harvard or a Yale does little for the bulk of students in our state. And frankly, Hardin's salary/perks are an affront...as are many of the other administrative salaries.

"Look at UCA enrollment under Lu Harding, skyrocketing."

Oh please...enrollment was steadily increasing before Hardin's tenure. And I'd call it hyperbole to attribute it to Hardin's magic touch.

"Colleges award honorary degress to "dead people" all the time."

That's true, and I didn't intend to imply that UCA was alone in this practice or that my opinion was anything other than my view. If someone is deserving of an honorary degree, give it to em while they're alive. So much of these dog-and-pony shows are all about the alumni/alumnae/school administrators and not about the students.

"The benefit to Lu Hardin as the speaker, free."

Good gosh...he's hardly free and given the cost of tuition I think the school can cough up a little speaker money.

"What is wrong with getting bonuses for a job more than well done?"

It's all about context and who gets to decide what defines a job well done. And quite frankly most of the relationships between our universities' Boards of Trustees and their school presidents are as incestuous as it gets. Instead of acting as a champion of/watchdog for the students, they are enablers of the good ole boys who run the schools (just like many corporate boards and their ceo's).

Plus and again...this is a state school in a very poor state, so I think the few hundred thousand Hardin gets in salary and perks should suffice.

Oh yeah...how about using some of that Foundation money to offset tuition increases instead of using it as an unaccountable way to fund every good-ole-boy project/raise that comes along.

"Oh please...enrollment was steadily increasing before Hardin's tenure. And I'd call it hyperbole to attribute it to Hardin's magic touch."

Actually Zelda, enrollment had been fairly stagnant before Lu arrived. Do your homework.

UCA is a great college. I know, because a lot of its students stay in town on the weekend.

"Actually Zelda, enrollment had been fairly stagnant before Lu arrived. Do your homework."

Define stagnant. Many of our state universities have been steadily growing (click on name)...for a variety of reasons. And UCA has had significant enrollment increases the last few years...and steady increases for some time. But giving Hardin most of the credit for enrollment increases is, well, stretching reality.

What difference does it make? Only about 60% stay around long enough to graduate. That is basically true today and has been for decades. When I was a freshman at the UofA in 1957, there were around 1,200 of us in my class and only around 750 of us graduated four years later.

Attrition in the old days, attrition today.

"Define stagnant. Many of our state universities have been steadily growing (click on name)...for a variety of reasons. And UCA has had significant enrollment increases the last few years...and steady increases for some time."

Since 2002, UCA has gone from 8,500 students to 12,400 students. UCA stayed around 8500 students for several years before Hardin's arrival. This is a 46 percent increase in four years. This is beyond steady growth. Compare these numbers to the rest of Arkansas's colleges and universities. The fact is UCA is growing with quantity and quality (the average ACT score of freshmen has risen over the past four years) of students. These are the facts.

"Since 2002, UCA has gone from 8,500 students to 12,400 students... This is a 46 percent increase in four years... These are the facts."
by: Centralarkansas

Okay Warwick, you can stop NOW...your job's done here.
...but just how did Lu pull the amazing 46% increase? Maybe the trip to Florida with the women's golf team started the ball rolling!

From Zelda's LINK--
"Public Colleges and Universities: Total preliminary headcount enrollment at the public institutions is an all-time high at 131,618, which is 3.3 percent more than 2005. Since 2002, enrollment increased 15.1 percent. Total enrollment has increased 74 percent since 1990."

With all the money spent on
advertising, I'd hope they
would have seen a huge
increase in enrollment. I think
graduation rates are the more
important measure though.

Have graduation rates gone
up the same amount?

bejeeus...

have no clue who "Warwick" is but for the record your comment refers to a golf tournament Lu attended with his wife Mary. The golf team didn't have a coach and Lu went as their coach.

The faculty pay raises are the highest in UCA history (...if raises work at UCA like they do at other institutions, faculty have to meet scholarship, service, and teaching expectations to receive the full raise). Sounds like he's putting the money where the "rubber meets the road"...the classroom professor. I have a feeling he has a plan. Attract and keep quality faculty...more students will follow.

He has a great relationship with faculty, students, and the community. The fastest growing 4-year institution in the state and one the fastest growing in the nation while avg ACT is going up...people need to stop being jealous and start learning from UCA.

yes...it's going up also

http://www.uca.edu/news/
May 04, 2007
UCA's graduation rate is now 55.3 percent -- a full nine percentage points better than the average for 4-year public universities in Arkansas (46.3 percent), and an eight percentage point increase over UCA's rate five years ago.

By Jamie Walden
Staff Writer
Published: February 7, 2007
The graduation rate climbed to 52.5 percent, ranking UCA as second in the state among public institutions, according to 2006 report by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE).
The report comes out annually and aims to provide the public with a way to gauge the success of individual higher education institutions across the nation.

UCA's graduation rate far exceeds the statewide average of 40 percent, according to the national report card on higher education provided by the National Center For Public Policy and Higher Education.

According to the ADHE report, the graduation rates of rivaling schools include: University of Arkansas at 59.3 percent, Arkansas State University at 45.1 percent, Pulaski Technical College at 29.5 percent and University of Arkansas at Little Rock at 25.3 percent.

"have no clue who "Warwick" is but for the record your comment refers to a golf tournament Lu attended with his wife Mary. The golf team didn't have a coach and Lu went as their coach. " by: lrsdparent

That would be Warwick Sabin, who left AT for UCA...and it was a JOKE!!! ;-)

Got on that last nerve Eh!!! :-o

Coach Lu, Golf Team??? ;-)

OKay, as a member of the UCA community, I have to say the community, on average, loves Lu. The students love Lu, the faculty (and usually the staff) love Lu and the Board of Trustess does as well. I don't know where "whateverUCA is coming from." I'd assume she has a personal bone to pick with the university.

That said, UCA's graduation rate has increased 8 percent under Lu Hardin and its enrollment has increased 46% under him. I'd say he's pretty well rocking his job, and the bonus is warranted. I don't hear anyone complaining when coaches at U of A get huge bonuses, and I'd suggest Lu's job is much more gruelling. For whatever reason, there seems to be an unjustified animosity towards UCA. Razorback fans can't stand it that we're doing well, but Lu's diong a great job. I also don't see why there's such complaints about all the advertisements. They've helped the school grow. Any improvement at a college in Arkansas is good for the state because it gives the students graduating high school more options. Competition usually means better quality all around.

I think it's absurd to say Lu should defer his bonus because tuition has been raised. His bonus is a gift, not paid for by the students. He has worked constantly this session to get UCA money so students won't have to pay more. He fights for them (us) and I, as a student, am appreciative. His raise hasn't effected the cost of tuition. Energy and gas have caused board to go up, and tuition hasn't gone up any more than other major universities in Arkansas. Our tuition would have gone up with or without a bonus, because 100,000 dollars is nothing compared to what UCA needs. We're working at something like 80 percent of need. That is, we and U of A, are the only two colleges in the state who are this drastically underfunded. The bonus wouldn't have put a dent in our needs to the extent that 15 dollars per credit hour per student would do.
I concur with some of the others here.. GO BEARS!

also, the only thing I disagree with the LCD on, is the idea that UCA's never going to pass U of A as the number one college in Arkansas. I hear that train a coming...

It's going to happen, sooner rather than later.

I know this is late and probably no one will read this, but Lu Hardin is 1000% better than Win Thompson.