Research: Pennington to study health of female athletes, p. 3
Baseball: Junior pitcher Nick Goody transfers to fulfill Tiger dream, p. 8
Reveille The Daily
ADMINISTRATION
Some retirees still earning salaries
www.lsureveille.com
Tigers to take on Ole Miss this weekend
Special to The Daily Reveille
ADMINISTRATION, see page 5
Friday, May 4, 2012 • Volume 116, Issue 139
‘They don’t like us, and we don’t like them.’
Xerxes A. Wilson To most, retirement means doing something besides working. For some in higher education, it means ballooning one’s income. Six administrators within the LSU System Office receive state retirement pensions while being paid by the LSU System, which forks over more than $650,000 in salaries to employees who still receive or have previously received state retirement benefits. On the LSU Baton Rouge campus itself, some 50 employees with previous retirement history collect salaries ranging from $4,800 to $165,000. In total, the campus pays about $2.4 million in salaries to employees who have previously retired, according to the same records provided by the System Office. This double-dipping, as it is known, is legal and fairly common within state government, particularly in higher education. In some cases, it can even become tripledipping. The higher education institutions in the LSU System use two state retirement systems: the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) and the Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS). TRSL has rules for retiring from its system and then returning to work while drawing a pension. LASERS also has rules for reentering taxpayer-supported work after retiring. These rules, in some cases, include forfeiting received benefits and reducing income. It is possible, however, to retire, begin receiving LASERS benefits, be rehired by the University System or on a campus with a salary and accumulate a new set of benefits in the TRSL retirement system. TRSL confirmed this, but the Human Resources Management at LSU refused to make any comment on the story or offer any explanations. Vice President for Academic
Baseball: Former slugger Blake Dean to return as student coach, p. 7
TAYLOR BALKOM / The Daily Reveille
LSU Sophomore pitcher Joe Broussard throws to get a runner out at first in Tuesday’s win against Tulane, 9-5.
LSU head coach coronate us already,” Mainieri Paul Mainieri can’t quite said. “We’ve got nine [SEC] wrap his head around the ri- games remaining.” valry with Ole Miss, wonderFriday’s opener will be a ing why the Rebels “seem to be matchup of premier sophomore a little more of a starting pitchers, rival” than other with LSU ace Chandler Rome schools. Kevin Gausman Sports Contributor Junior outpitted against Ole fielder Mason Katz was quick to Miss right hander Bobby Wahl, dispel any of his coach’s doubts. both of whom were named to the “They don’t like us, and we Golden Spikes Award watch list don’t like them,” Katz said. “That Wednesday. goes in all sports, really.” Wahl’s 2.09 ERA, five wins Regardless of the animosity, and .211 opposing batting average Mainieri knows the series is a piv- have stymied some of the counotal one in the Southeastern Con- try’s best teams, including No. ference Western Division race, 7 Florida and TCU. He was also where the No. 24 Rebels (30-16, recently named to the National 10-11 SEC) trail the No. 4 Tigers Pitcher of the Year watch list. (35-10, 14-7 SEC) by four games. Gausman said he doesn’t Coupled with LSU’s recent need any extra motivation afstruggles on the road, Mainieri ter surrendering six hits and six was hesitant to rest on his team’s runs in just 2 1/3 innings in last accomplishments. “People seem to want to OLE MISS, see page 11
Sydni Dunn Special Reports Chair
With baseball season in full swing, fans visiting the concession stands at Alex Box Daily Stadium can be assured Reveille that LSU Dining’s faSpecial cilities have a clean bill Report of health after routine inspections by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. The PMAC, Tiger Stadium’s Stadium Club and LSU Dining’s mobile concessions trailer all
Average faculty salary up by $1,368 Joshua Bergeron Contributing Writer
Speakes said. Violations are documented in two categories, critical and non-critical. Critical refers to issues that could cause foodborne illness. While no issues were documented for the annually licensed joints, seasonal facilities — specifically the 50 individual stands in Tiger Stadium — had a mix of violations. Tiger Concessions Director Larry Wallace said a crew of state inspectors visits nearly every home athletic event to monitor the seasonal stands’ operations. If a problem is noticed, the official attempts to correct it on the spot, Speakes said. CONCESSIONS, see page 5
SALARIES, see page 5
Health inspections of University concession stands come up clean yielded perfect scores in the annual report. These facilities operate on a one-year permit because they are used for events outside of the athletic season. But the nearly 70 concession stands licensed on a seasonal basis — following the athletic schedule — did not produce the same results. DHH spokeswoman Meghan Speakes said DHH inspects all facilities one to four times a year, depending on the license type. The manner in which the inspections are conducted, however, remains the same, she said. Inspectors arrive unannounced and evaluate various aspects of the facilities based on a checklist of items, including the cleanliness of the area and the storage of food,
Ph.D.s increase earning potential
Students have heard it before: actively working in one’s field of study yields more money than going into academia. At the University, the average faculty member makes approximately Check out the $69,067, acupdated salary cording to new findings from database at Daily lsureveille.com. The Reveille’s salary database. That’s slightly below average for professors across the board, according to Bob Kuhn, associate vice chancellor for Budget and Planning. That average also includes faculty other than professors and instructors, but the number provides a monetary comparison of the expected income for students who go into academia as opposed to professional jobs in their field. For example, students can look to biology and chemistry, two popular disciplines in the STEM — or science, technology, engineering and math — fields. On average, associate professors in biology make about $66,000, while associate chemistry professors make about $65,000, according to Salary.com statistics. That’s significantly less than what top-level scientists in those fields might make outside the classroom — nearly $100,000 for biologists and $99,000 for chemists, statistics show. But those fat paychecks don’t come immediately after graduation. Average entry-level salaries are closer to $45,000 for biologists and $47,000 for chemists who work in the field. Professors don’t fall so far behind in every discipline, though. For example, while a top-level accountant might earn around $75,000, an accounting professor can make as
ATHLETIC VENUES
Violations found in seasonal stands
SALARY TRENDS