Keene State College executive officers received approximately $180,000 from the “pay at risk” program for the 2022 fiscal year.
Keene State’s executive officers’ at-risk payments for fiscal year 2022 (FY22) were obtained through an open-records request.
The at-risk pay of executive officers is calculated by Keene State President Melinda Treadwell, with hers calculated by the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) board.
In total, seven executive officers were included in the FY22 “pay at risk program.”
“For executive officers – me and the cabinet members – we do not pay people at 50th percent. We know what that target is, we pay them some amount less than that and then there’s a component of their pay – up to 15% of their base pay – that they can earn based on hitting their goals and achievement markers as an executive officer,” she said.
Treadwell continued, “So, it’s called at-risk pay because if you don’t do the things that are in your stretch goals as an executive officer, I will not approve dispersing that at-risk pay; but, if you achieve, then you are eligible to receive up to 15 percent of what your base is as a supplemental, so most people then are brought to 50th or 55th percentile of market based on that calculation.”
Treadwell explained that in order to calculate the at-risk disbursement that the executive officers will be receiving, she takes into consideration goal achievements, one-on-one reviews with executive officers regarding their goals, the reaching of targets, and feedback from faculty and staff that have worked alongside executive officers.
“So, it’s based off their performance, off the feedback, and off our discussions about their self-reflection on their achievement of their work expectations and the goals we set,” she said.
For FY22, executive officers at Keene State received a total of $188,672 in at-risk pay, with Treadwell receiving the highest amount at $46,722.
Vice President for Enrollment and Student Engagement MB Lufkin received the second highest amount at $30,035.
Treadwell explained that the approximately $10,000 increase from the previous fiscal year is partially due to personnel changes among executive officers, most notably the addition of Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs James Beeby and Vice President for Finance and Administration Nathalie Houder to the “pay at risk program.”
“They weren’t eligible for at-risk pay last year, so they weren’t in the calculation in last year’s disbursement. Your first year you’re not eligible because the period of review was for the prior year…” Treadwell said.
Additionally, all executive officers give back anywhere from 8-15 percent of their base salaries to the college for scholarships.
According to the requested record, there are multiple reasons the pay at risk program is implemented. It is intended to recognize the strong link between executive compensation and the performance of individuals, to establish accountability and provide a recognition system, and to offer total cash compensation opportunities competitive to USNH’s peer organizations as established by an outside, third-party consultant.
Treadwell said that a common misconception she has seen people have about the “pay at risk program” is that executive officer compensation is simply bonuses. However, this is not the case.
“It’s a compensation to get you to target. It’s not a raise above target. None of us are at target. So every other faculty and staff member is at target, we set their base at target. The board wanted to incentivize executives, so if you’re an executive role you should be a high performer, and about ten years ago, the board said, ‘We’re going to hold back some of the compensation, you have to earn market,’” Treadwell said.
She continued, “So it’s not a bonus, it’s a way to get to your base market, and anything above that is a little bit of a bonus, and the most people can get is like 5 percent…I think the reason that it makes people bristle a little bit is it’s actually performance based hold back in your base compensation, it’s not a bonus. It’s a way for the board to say, ‘If you don’t perform, if you don’t hit your goals, you’re not going to be paid at 50th percent.’”
“At-risk pay is a component of people understanding – because we’re all public employees – what the annual salaries are, I’m proud the board tries to pay us at midpoint, and I’m actually happy that we have to do it by performance, and not all my cabinet officers got a full 15 percent disbursement because it is calculated…” Treadwell said.
She concluded, “I try to hold an integrity-based process so that executives know their goals and they can feel the performance against their goals, but it’s not a given that everyone’s going to get their 15 percent, it’s earned.”
Piper Pavelich can be contacted
at ppavelich@kscequinox.com
An earlier version of this article incorrectly states the “at-risk pay” was disbursed for the fiscal year 2023, however, it was for the fiscal year 2022. The Equinox apologizes for this error.
