ALBANY - The State University of New York's high-profile expert in the science of nanotechnology has been given a raise that increases his annual SUNY salary to $666,995 or almost a half-million dollars a year more than Eliot Spitzer is paid as governor.
The almost $142,000-a-year raise for Alain Kaloyeros was first reported Monday by the New York Post.
Even before the hefty hike, Kaloyeros was New York's highest paid state employee.
The Republican majority leader of the state Senate, Joseph Bruno, said Monday he was surprised when he heard about the raise.
“I believe that warrants an explanation,” said Bruno.
In 2005, state officials also reported that in addition to his regular SUNY salary, the State University of New York Foundation was paying Kaloyeros an additional $338,317 as its “principal investigator.” Such academic foundations are often used to enhance the pay of top university officials and professors.
Cathy Kaszluga, a spokeswoman for the research foundation, said that over the past state fiscal year Kaloyeros was paid an additional $271,886 on top of his regular SUNY salary.
And, Kaszluga took an apparent jab at Bruno, saying Kaloyeros “does not sit on any paid boards, does not receive any additional monies from any other state-related sources, does not trade horses or own a consulting firm, and is not currently engaged nor will he engage in private consulting.”
On Sunday, Albany's Times Union newspaper reported that the FBI's more than year-old investigation of Bruno into his private consulting business dealings had expanded to also examine the Senate leader's horse-breeding business.
Later Monday, SUNY Vice Chancellor John O'Connor, president of the research foundation issued a statement saying Kaszluga's earlier statement “included language which was incorrect and inappropriate and for which on behalf of the Research Foundation, I apologize.”
Kaloyeros is vice president and chief administrative officer of the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and a professor of nanoscience.
He has been instrumental in luring high-tech computer parts manufacturers to the Albany area.
SUNY Albany Provost Susan Herbst told the Post that Kaloyeros would soon be given additional responsibilities and, as a result, “I recommended a well-deserved salary increase, which underwent the entire SUNY review process and was approved by the SUNY chancellor.”
Kaloyeros is a colorful figure with a penchant for high-powered sports cars. Several years ago, his stable of vehicles included a Porsche Boxster with a license plate that read “GEEK.”
Nanotechnology is the science of working at the atomic and molecular levels at scales that are about 1/100,000th the diameter of a human hair.
As governor, Spitzer is paid $179,000 a year.
“The administration stands behind Kaloyeros who has served as the catalyst for the Sematech project,” said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson, noting one major private sector project the SUNY professor had a hand in bringing to Albany. “A competitive salary was necessary to attract the necessary talent.”
A spokesman for Kaloyeros did not immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Bruno said it was up to SUNY officials to explain why Kaloyeros had been given the raise, although the Senate leader also said, “We are in a very competitive society.”
“I honestly don't know what is valid and what is competitive ... We are going to collect some of that information,” Bruno said.
Noting the role Kaloyeros has played in luring private-sector investment to the Albany area, a spokesman for SUNY's central administration defended the pay package.
“As SUNY positions itself to become a world class research and education player in the global innovation economy, we must successfully and effectively compete with UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, the universities of Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and others, to attract and retain top talent,” said David Henahan.
“Professor Kaloyeros' accomplishments have focused the world's attention to the University at Albany and its College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and we are very grateful for his tireless efforts in advancing research and development and for producing a tremendous positive impact on the region and the state's economy,” the SUNY spokesman added.
Scott Smallwood, editor of the faculty section for The Chronicle of Higher Education, said that while Kaloyeros' new salary was far higher than average, “every campus has some of those” as they battle to keep and attract top professors.
A March 22 letter from Herbst to Kaloyeros, made public by the state comptroller's office on Monday at the request of The Associated Press, outlined the pay raise and said it was being offered because he was expected to take on additional responsibilities in marketing the school's scientific efforts beyond the nanotechnology field.
The letter said Kaloyeros would be “serving as the University's principal liaison with the public and private sector ... in order to strategically coordinate and promote the University's economic and industry outreach mission.”
The higher salary was offered for an initial five-year period.
In her letter, Herbst said the arrangement had been “endorsed by State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor John R. Ryan.”
Even before the hefty hike, Kaloyeros was New York's highest paid state employee.
The Republican majority leader of the state Senate, Joseph Bruno, said Monday he was surprised when he heard about the raise.
“I believe that warrants an explanation,” said Bruno.
In 2005, state officials also reported that in addition to his regular SUNY salary, the State University of New York Foundation was paying Kaloyeros an additional $338,317 as its “principal investigator.” Such academic foundations are often used to enhance the pay of top university officials and professors.
Cathy Kaszluga, a spokeswoman for the research foundation, said that over the past state fiscal year Kaloyeros was paid an additional $271,886 on top of his regular SUNY salary.
And, Kaszluga took an apparent jab at Bruno, saying Kaloyeros “does not sit on any paid boards, does not receive any additional monies from any other state-related sources, does not trade horses or own a consulting firm, and is not currently engaged nor will he engage in private consulting.”
On Sunday, Albany's Times Union newspaper reported that the FBI's more than year-old investigation of Bruno into his private consulting business dealings had expanded to also examine the Senate leader's horse-breeding business.
Later Monday, SUNY Vice Chancellor John O'Connor, president of the research foundation issued a statement saying Kaszluga's earlier statement “included language which was incorrect and inappropriate and for which on behalf of the Research Foundation, I apologize.”
Kaloyeros is vice president and chief administrative officer of the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and a professor of nanoscience.
He has been instrumental in luring high-tech computer parts manufacturers to the Albany area.
SUNY Albany Provost Susan Herbst told the Post that Kaloyeros would soon be given additional responsibilities and, as a result, “I recommended a well-deserved salary increase, which underwent the entire SUNY review process and was approved by the SUNY chancellor.”
Kaloyeros is a colorful figure with a penchant for high-powered sports cars. Several years ago, his stable of vehicles included a Porsche Boxster with a license plate that read “GEEK.”
Nanotechnology is the science of working at the atomic and molecular levels at scales that are about 1/100,000th the diameter of a human hair.
As governor, Spitzer is paid $179,000 a year.
“The administration stands behind Kaloyeros who has served as the catalyst for the Sematech project,” said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson, noting one major private sector project the SUNY professor had a hand in bringing to Albany. “A competitive salary was necessary to attract the necessary talent.”
A spokesman for Kaloyeros did not immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Bruno said it was up to SUNY officials to explain why Kaloyeros had been given the raise, although the Senate leader also said, “We are in a very competitive society.”
“I honestly don't know what is valid and what is competitive ... We are going to collect some of that information,” Bruno said.
Noting the role Kaloyeros has played in luring private-sector investment to the Albany area, a spokesman for SUNY's central administration defended the pay package.
“As SUNY positions itself to become a world class research and education player in the global innovation economy, we must successfully and effectively compete with UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, the universities of Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and others, to attract and retain top talent,” said David Henahan.
“Professor Kaloyeros' accomplishments have focused the world's attention to the University at Albany and its College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and we are very grateful for his tireless efforts in advancing research and development and for producing a tremendous positive impact on the region and the state's economy,” the SUNY spokesman added.
Scott Smallwood, editor of the faculty section for The Chronicle of Higher Education, said that while Kaloyeros' new salary was far higher than average, “every campus has some of those” as they battle to keep and attract top professors.
A March 22 letter from Herbst to Kaloyeros, made public by the state comptroller's office on Monday at the request of The Associated Press, outlined the pay raise and said it was being offered because he was expected to take on additional responsibilities in marketing the school's scientific efforts beyond the nanotechnology field.
The letter said Kaloyeros would be “serving as the University's principal liaison with the public and private sector ... in order to strategically coordinate and promote the University's economic and industry outreach mission.”
The higher salary was offered for an initial five-year period.
In her letter, Herbst said the arrangement had been “endorsed by State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor John R. Ryan.”
