Her salary as an executive-in-residence and senior lecturer -- a job created for her in 2005 -- went from $90,300 to $170,000.

Her job title has not changed, but university officials said they have greatly expanded the duties for Easley, a former prosecutor and lawyer who has taught law courses. Her new duties include directing public safety training and co-directing the pre-law services program.

The Tuesday pay increase for Easley, 58, would dramatically raise her state retirement benefits, based on an average of an employee's four highest-earning years.

The raise comes as Easley, wife of Gov. Mike Easley, has been a hot topic among state residents because news reports revealed she was among the state's delegation on two trips to Europe that cost taxpayers more than $109,000.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are trying to hammer out a budget, and a contentious point between the governor and the legislature has been raises for state employees and teachers.

Dana Cope, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, said Easley's raise is way out of line compared with what state employees might expect.

"It looks like there is obviously preferential treatment going on," said Cope, whose organization represents 55,000 state employees and retirees. "That seems to be ridiculous. When state employees get additional job duties, very oftentimes they will get at best a 5 percent pay increase of what they were making."

Mary Easley did not respond to a request made through the governor's press office for an interview. She and the governor told WRAL-TV on Wednesday that they did not understand the uproar over her salary.

"It's not a raise. She's taking a new position," Gov. Easley told WRAL. "She could go out with a law firm and make a lot more money, but she's decided to stay with public service."

Mary Easley said, "What people have to understand is that I bring something unique to N.C. State," WRAL reported.

Gov. Easley, who is paid $135,854 a year, said he sensed sexism in his wife's critics.

"If she were a man, it wouldn't be an issue," Easley told WRAL.

Jim Martin, a chemistry professor at NCSU and the elected faculty chairman, said there is sexism at the university. A 2006 report from the American Association of University Professors said that just 18 percent of the university's tenured faculty are women. At UNC-Chapel Hill, the figure is 28 percent.

"Yes, we have sexism problems," Martin said, "but it's not paying the first lady $170,000."

The average salary for a full professor at NCSU is $110,000, said Martin, who is paid $101,000 as a full professor of chemistry.

Teach or go private?

Unfortunately, many faculty members must also choose between their jobs as teachers and lucrative careers in the private sector, he said.

"When I see an adjunct faculty being paid, you know, half again, if not close to double the salary of a faculty member, you can't help but say, 'Why?' What is that telling all the rest of us who have made this commitment to public service?" Martin said.

In a statement Wednesday, the university's provost and executive vice chancellor, Larry Nielsen, defended the 88 percent pay increase, which was first reported Wednesday by the Carolina Journal, a weekly publication owned by the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Nielsen, whose office budget will pay Easley's salary, said her job has a new five-year commitment.

"Mary Easley brings unmatched experience to our students at N.C. State, and we are fortunate to have her as a member of our faculty," Nielsen said.

'Uniquely qualified'

Easley was hired by the university in 2005. She graduated from Wake Forest University and its law school, said Sherri Johnson, Gov. Mike Easley's communications director. She was a prosecutor for 10 years and in private practice for eight. She also taught law at N.C. Central University.

When NCSU hired her, her duties included teaching and running a university seminar series. Under her direction, the series has attracted speakers including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Easley has previously taught legal aspects of police supervision. In her new job with NCSU, she will direct a training program for public safety leaders, first responders and other security professionals.

Her new duties also will include co-directing the pre-law services program and building partnerships with the legal profession and area law schools, according to the university.

"Mrs. Easley's experience in the legal profession and commitment to public service make her uniquely qualified to direct these efforts at N.C. State," Nielsen said.

(News researcher David Raynor contributed to this report.)

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