Decatur, Ala. | Friday, May 24, 2013
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Ex-UA president aides paid salary after jobs cut
By Jay Reeves
Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM — Two top aides to former University of Alabama President Guy Bailey are losing their jobs but will continue to draw a salary for several months, a university system spokeswoman said Friday.

Presidential assistant Mary Larson Diaz and presidential chief of staff Justin Clark came to Tuscaloosa with Bailey from Texas Tech University after he took the job at Alabama.

Their combined salaries were $246,000 annually, with Diaz earning $148,000 and Clark making $98,000.

But both positions were eliminated after Bailey’s unexpected resignation after just two months on the job.

University system spokeswoman Kellee Reinhart said both Diaz and Clark were provided administrative leave with pay for four months.

The school also is still paying Bailey $535,000 a year.

Bailey, who cited his wife’s health in unexpectedly quitting in late October, remains on the university payroll and will be classified as being on “developmental leave” through next August, Reinhart said last week.

A linguistics expert, Bailey was granted tenure as an English professor when he was hired and could return to the university in a teaching position once the leave ends, she said.

System Chancellor Robert Witt has said Bailey would be a “tremendous asset” to the university if he decided to move to the classroom, and that was part of the reason he was given paid leave.

While Bailey’s annual pay package was worth as much as $652,000 including incentives, he will receive only the base salary amount until the leave period ends. Reinhart said Bailey’s salary would drop to a level in line with that of professors if he remained in a teaching role.

A native of Montgomery and a two-time Alabama graduate, Bailey was hired away from the presidency at Texas Tech University in July and took over at Alabama in early September. He quit about two months later, citing the health of his wife, Jan Tillery-Bailey, a two-time cancer survivor.

Bailey has not commented publicly on his departure, and university officials have declined to discuss details behind his decision to quit or his wife’s health.

Judy Bonner, a former provost, replaced Bailey and became the university’s first permanent female president. Reinhart has said her compensation package is identical to Bailey’s.

Bonner, who previously served as interim president before Bailey was hired, is the sister of U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile.Eds

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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6 comments on this item

This is a waste of tax money in so many ways !!! Something smells here !!!!

This is a waste of tax money in so many ways !!! Something smells here !!!!

So I guess come this summer the BOT will have to raise tutuion, and they will say its due to the state not giving us money, not us throwing it away. When is this state going to wake up and get control of the the BOT at Auburn and Alabama.

L...You hit the nail right on the head!

The state will probably intervene on Alabama's BOT when the Universities stop making smart decisons like investing in Saban's $4 million salary that in turn raised the school's philanthropic giving in the first year to Athletics from $12 million a year to $64 million. It has now risen to $115 million annually. UUUMMM what are they doing with all that money, building better and more facilities for students, hiring more professors and have plans to increase the student populations from 20,000 students to 40,000 students, which they should accomplish by 2015. When the State invests in something that brings such a significant ROI to its citizens, then I will say lets take control of Alabama and Auburn's BOI, but since the state is practically bankrupt and cutting school funding constantly, it sounds like maybe Alabama and Auburn officials should be running the state. Isn't one of our great leader for the State of Alabama in prision now?

Furthermore, the University of Alabama offered these two aids a job and were asked to leave their jobs at Texas Tech to go to Alabama and work. Their boss stepped down and I guess you guys think they should just lose there jobs immediately and be tossed out on their butts. I think Alabama is handling it appropriately by giving them some time to find another job, since they let them go 2 months after they were hired.

The entire Guy Bailey hiring debacle seems to get worse (more expensive) with each new revelation. Citizens who are paying taxes and struggling are offended by that.

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