Citizen complaints have skyrocketed, said the Hartford Courant, following its revelation April 17 that the two top cops at the University of Connecticut are making $255K and $201K, respectively.

hudd
Hudd
Reporter Jon Lender, accessing records via a Freedom of Information filing, found that Chief Robert Hudd, 54, who supervises a force of 76 cops, is being paid $255,848 as of last August, and the No. 2 cop, Ronald Blicher, 55, is being paid $201,883. Both had received raises of $35,000 effective Jan. 15, 2010.

Hudd has also been associate VP for public and environmental safety since 2005.

Under a reorganization in 2009, the position of police chief/public safety director of the Uconn Health Center in Farmington was put under the command of police at the main campus in Storrs. The Storrs Public Safety division includes the Police, Fire/Rescue and Locksmith depts. serving Storrs and regional campuses.

The combined organization has 212 employees and a budget of about $24M, the Courant said.

Trustees 'In the Dark'


Uconn trustees said they did not know about pay increases for top-level non-faculty employees.

The trustees, acknowledging that the power to institute raises rests solely with Uconn administrators, nevertheless formed a committee to study the raises.

State lawmakers told the Courant they are trying to figure out how to gain control of spending at Uconn at a time of budget crisis for the state.

Uconn is immune by law from the line-item budget controls that the governor and legislature have over other state bodies.

The Courant noted that the Uconn cop pay exceeds that of cops at other colleges and cities.

New York Police Chief Ray Kelly was paid $212,000 two years ago. He supervises 37,000 cops.

Lender obtained 97 pages of correspondence and personnel forms through an FOI filing.

Health Officials Near $1M Mark


The 12 highest paid state employees all work at Uconn.

Cato Laurencin, dean of the Medical School, is paid $918K; Dr. John Nulsen, Center for Advanced Repro Services, $881K, and James Whalen, assoc. prof., dermatology and surgery, $839K. Eight others at the Health Center make more than $500K.

Basketball coach Jim Calhoun is paid $2.3M; women’s coach Geno Auriemma, $1.6M, and football coach Randy Edsall, $1.5M.

Uconn costs have multiplied 24 times since the 1950s (while the inflation rate was eight times). Yearly cost for in-state residents is $24K for tuition, room & board. It’s nearly $40K for out-of-state students.