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11: Mitzi Montoya on Addressing Salary Inequities

A peer-to-peer discussion with the current provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Utah and former dean of the Anderson School of Management.









Show notes: On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Jim Ellis and Ken Kring speak with Mitzi Montoya, provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Utah -- a position to which she was appointed in January 2023. At the time of this interview, Mitzi was dean of the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico.


In this conversation, Mitzi relates in great detail how she established salary equity at Anderson, touching on key points such as:

  • The importance of data, structure and transparency in resetting salary equity

  • Her clever use of a living “white paper” to engage the entire college and address grievances/concerns

  • Gaining consensus for this change both inside the college and with the provost

  • Identifying the financing model for recurring support

  • Selling the benefits of an equitable pay structure

  • Defining objective standards for research

  • Setting baseline expectations in all areas of research, teaching and service to be eligible for merit pay.

Learn more about Mitzi Montoya: academic-affairs.utah.edu/about-mitzi-m-montoya/


Mitzi M. Montoya Bio:

Mitzi M. Montoya, PhD, was a Professor in the Carson College of Business at Washington State University. She served briefly as the university's chief academic officer with a goal of advancing WSU's academic mission across all campuses. Dr. Montoya received her PhD in Marketing and Statistics and BS in Applied Engineering Science, both from Michigan State University.


Dr. Montoya is a thought leader in higher education. Throughout her career she has supported student and faculty success, enhanced entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems and led collaborative initiatives that advance economic and community prosperity. Prior to joining WSU, Dr. Montoya spent 4 years at OSU as the Sara Hart Kimball Dean of the Oregon State University College of Business. She also spent 5 years at Arizona State University where she was the Dean of the College of Technology & Innovation, Vice Provost of the ASU Polytechnic Campus and inaugural Vice President and University Dean of Entrepreneurship & Innovation for ASU. Prior to that, Dr. Montoya spent 15 years at North Carolina State University where she held the Zelnak Chair in Marketing & Innovation in the Poole College of Management and was Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor of Research. She is a former American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow.





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