Dobbins to be paid up to $75,000 as consultant for Southeast

Southeast Missouri State University's board of regents has approved an addendum to the employment agreement with president emeritus Kenneth Dobbins, authorizing the university to pay Dobbins up to $75,000 to represent Southeast in the St. Louis area and assist president Carlos Vargas-Aburto with his transition into the presidency.

Southeast will pay Dobbins $75 per hour -- about half the hourly rate he was earning as president of the university, according to a statement released Wednesday by Southeast. His duties will be outlined and directed by Vargas.

Dobbins' last day as university president was June 30, and Vargas assumed the presidency July 1.

Dobbins' base salary for fiscal year 2015 was $235,000, and he received an annuity of $65,000. Vargas' annual base salary is $270,000. Vargas also will receive $24,000 per year to buy an annuity or other retirement instrument. On-campus housing is provided by the university.

The addendum, approved by the board in June, authorizes a maximum of $75,000 be paid to Dobbins that includes payment for work performed and reimbursement for "reasonable and necessary expenses." Dobbins' time sheets will be submitted to Vargas for approval.

The board expects the transitional items to be completed no later than the end of the current fiscal year June 30, 2016, according to the release.

As part of the agreement, Dobbins will continue to represent Southeast in the St. Louis area through the university's participation in the St. Louis Regional Chamber Board and Higher Education Subcommittee; Greater St. Louis Boy Scout Council; Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri; and partnership initiatives with several St. Louis metropolitan colleges and universities, business and community colleges.

The board also asked Dobbins to help Vargas with transitions and introductions in the areas of state and federal legislators, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., major supporters and donors to the university and other transitional items, the university said.

Jay Knudtson, president of the board of regents, said the board has complete confidence in Vargas' ability to lead.

"I think we also have to be respectful of Dr. Dobbins' 24 years of service and what kind of institutional knowledge that he has," he said. "I think in some ways it would be a disservice to completely cut our ties with that institutional history that he has."

Knudtson said he has been to Jefferson City and Washington with Dobbins and has seen the connectivity and relationships he has with legislators.

"Those can be just as strong going forward even though he's not sitting in that president's chair," he said. "Dr. Vargas is truly going to have his hands full with campus issues right here in Cape Girardeau. So, to think in the next 12 months he's going to be able to totally get his arms around everything within our university campus and expand on these relationships in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C., I think is an unrealistic expectation. So, the board agrees unanimously we are levering the external success that Dr. Dobbins has had."

Knudtson added the idea for the agreement first came up during the interview with Vargas.

"He had really done his homework and had acknowledged the tremendous success that Dr. Dobbins had here and wasn't intimidated by that," he said. "In a free flow of conversation within the interview process, he indicated how it would be really neat if Dr. Dobbins was to remain involved in some capacity."

Knudtson said the board was "extremely sensitive" to crafting an appropriate arrangement, ensuring it didn't undermine or in any way diminish Vargas' ability to lead. Knudtson also said Dobbins will not be providing any oversight of university athletics.

Several drafts of the arrangement were exchanged with Vargas, he said, with the overriding caveat being Vargas had the ability to veto anything laid out.

"And ultimately, he even had the ability to veto the arrangement altogether," Knudtson said. "He truly was the one that helped develop it, and it ended up being a really healthy process in that it has accountability, it has parameters, and it explicitly lays out how Dr. Dobbins will serve the university over the next 12 months."

klamb@semissourian.com

388-3639

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One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, Mo.