ustxtxb_obs_1975_10_31_50_00011-00000_000.pdf

HALF PR,ICE RECORDS NAG AZ IN E Psi 1 .1-1111.. Suroitis AUSTIN: 1514 LA.VACA. WACO: 25T” a COLUMBUS DALLAS:,4535 AsicIONNXY AV k 1 fb OS r.T..M. 5119 W. LOVOS LN. BID” 205 S. ZANG lb mama a Plucts. THE TEXAS OBSERVER “A tradition of honesty, accuracy, fairness, and tireless investigation has enabled the Texas Observer to occupy a unique place in Texas journalism.” The Adversaries: Politics and The “The always impious Texas Observer… We ‘recommend it.” I. F. Stone’s Bi-Weekly, May 31,1971 I/. . the Progressive and the Texas Observer, both of them knowledgeable, superbly written, and leavened by a wit of which conservatives seem incapable.” George Frazier, The Boston Globe, Dec. 15, 1973. “Oddly, the impact of some of its biggest stories comes on the rebound: They are picked up and commented on nationally before the state’s daily press recognizes them.” Lew Powell, Chicago Journalism Review, April, 1974 “One of the best publications in the country remains the Texas Observer.” Pete Hamill, The New York Post, Dec. 18, 1969 “The Observer is the conscience of the political community in Texas.” Andrew Kopkind, The New Republic, Nov. 20, 1965 “I think the Observer ranks with The Progressive as one of the two most useful papers in the United States.” John Kenneth Galbraith, Sep. 16, 1970 “The Observer keeps coming out with serious and thorough news of this critically important state which people inside and out can’t get elsewhere.” Nicholas von Hoffman, The Washington Post, Sep. 10, 1971 [ I One Year $10.00 [ I Two Years $18.00 [ 1 Three Years $25.00 \(Non-Texas addresses exempt from 5% sales tax Name Street City & State Zip [ Check encl.; [ ] Bill me 600 WEST 7 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 Thomas Nast, 1871 Some light on salary supplements Austin Several colleges have filed new salary supplement reports with the secretary of state in hopes of complying with the state law that requires public disclosure of the amounts and sources of such supplements. State Comptroller Bob Bullock got the ball rolling a few months ago when he threatened not to certify college presidents’ salary checks as long as the sources of their salary supplements remained unreported. As we reported earlier \(Obs., UT Chancellor Charles LeMaistre’s $30,000 a year supplement \(to a state salary of $39,600 for 1977, plus the use of the was simply chalked up to the “Chancellor’s Council.” State college presidents were receiving supplements “from unrestricted gifts,” supplements “from funds other than appropriated funds,” and supplements “from development funds.” Lamar University in Beaumont gets the award for the best new reporting job. Lamar explained that its president accepts $5,400 yearly out of $9,000 offered by the Regents Development Foundation and went on to list all of the donors to the Foundation \(sans The donors include a lot of alums and a lot of businesses from Grace Termite and Pest Control to IBM Corp. and PPG Industries Foundation. There are lots of financial institutions on the list, including the Beaumont Savings and Loan Association, Jacinto Savings and Loan, and the American National Bank. Pan American University in Edinburg reported that its president is to receive a salary supplement of $7,500 this fiscal year. The Edinburg Investment Company has donated $1,875 of that amount and the rest has yet to be raised. Dr. W. 0. Trogdon, president of Tarleton State University in Stephenville, got $2,100 this year from an unrestricted gift from Texas Power & Light Co. Prairie View A&M in Waller revealed that its president, Dr. A. I. Thomas, received a supplement of $2,100. “The supplement is from a nonappropriated fund accrual which included unrestricted gifts totaling $11,500 from Exxon Corp., Singer Company Foundation, Kopper Foundation, and Continental Oil Co. Funds also are used to reimburse Dr. Thomas for $4,800 annually for house and utilities.” Dr. Thomas receives a $34,800 yearly salary from the state. Over in Houston, Texas Southern University wrote to the secretary of state that President Granville M. Sawyer this year got a $15,200 supplement from John B. Coleman, M.D., a TSU regent. The University of Texas was less than forthcoming with some of its information on supplements. The Chancellor’s Council, the UT letter explained, “is an informal association of selected alumni and friends of the university joined together by an active and abiding interest in the institution and acting through sponsorship of the Board of Regents.” In further correspondence with Bullock, UT explained that admission to the Chancellor’s Council is purchased with a $10,000 check. The list of members is now available for public inspection. A number of UT System presidents were listed as receiving gifts from “Development Funds.” Bryce Jordan of UT Dallas gets $16,500 from “Development Funds” in addition to his $34,800 salary. The president of UT Permian Basin gets the same. The UT letter said, “The term `development funds’ and ‘trust funds’ are used interchangeably since a development fund from private contributors is a trust fund for either restricted or unrestricted purposes. The funds are gifts from private sources raised under the aegis of the Development Board.” Some other colleges, including Texas Tech, North Texas State, and the University of Houston, explained that their supplements are channeled through university foundations that have tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. Bullock is accepting these reports on the basis that information on tax-exempt foundations is available through the IRS. So now Texans have a tad more information about who pays the piper at the state universities. The next question is: Should the presidents be receiving supplements at all? K.N. October 31, 19 75 11