Shrinking salary range makes hiring a new chief financial officer more difficult for Missouri State University
Springfield News-Leader
August 7, 2011
A national search for Missouri State University's chief financial officer has failed after several months of effort, as the university has lowered the salary it was willing to pay.
The position became vacant when Nila Hayes, the university's top financial position, retired in July.
The search for her replacement started in spring, and the university initially conveyed to the applicants through a search firm that the pay range would be $175,000 to $200,000, said interim president Clif Smart, who was took the helm of the university in late June.
By then, the search was in its final stages -- the university was identifying finalists.
Smart said he reset the pay range to be $140,000 to $150,000.
When a new search is launched in the spring, Smart said he plans to readjust the pay scale to be $120,000 to $140,000.
"I can't justify a salary of $175,000 to $200,000, when people on my administrative council are making $90,000 to $150,000," Smart said. "It puts things out of balance."
