Taxpayer Funded University Presidents Raking in Major Dollars

I'm posting this in the political forums because this is a prime example of our tax dollars at work.

Tired of skyrocketing college tuition? Tired of your student loans? Don't blame the banks or the bankers. Look closer and blame your university. Ask the questions of your administration. Look around your campus to see how the money is being spent!! Spent is key word? Its always about spending more and not saving a dime or passing the savings along to the students and their parents who are paying the tuition.

Public universities are treated and run like Fortune 500 companies with no dividends shared with those footing the bill.

This is just insane when you look at this small picture presented in this very brief article

Year after year it seems public university presidents are lobbying their state legislatures for even more taxpayer funding and it seems that every year, students protest rising tuition prices and budget cuts. But the Washington Post recently dug up the numbers in a new survey showing just how much public university presidents are making around the country and for some, it's nearly $2 million per year. Priorities people. Is higher learning really about educating students anymore?

Texas A&M Chancellor Michael McKinney earned nearly as much, $1.97 million to Gee’s $1.99 million. Ousted Penn State President Graham Spanier earned $1.07 million.

Just insane folks.

townhall.com...

Original article

Average presidential pay, however, is not rising at a particularly swift rate. The survey of 190 institutions and university systems found median total compensation rose 3 percent to $421,395.

The Chronicle said the California State University system was the epicenter of unrest over presidential pay last year:

“The outcry over presidential pay at Cal State reached a crescendo last July, when Elliot Hirshman, former provost of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, was named president of San Diego State University and given a $400,000 salary, which was 33 percent higher than that of his predecessor.”

Under pressure, the Cal State board adopted a presidential pay cap in January.

I should hasten to add that the top private university presidents earn significantly more than their public counterparts. The last Chronicle survey of those schools found three private presidents around Washington earning more than $1 million in 2009: $3.8 million went to William Brody at Johns Hopkins University and $1.5 million to Kevin Manning at Stevenson University, both in Baltimore. George Washington University President Steven Knapp earned $1.05 million in 2009.

www.washingtonpost.com... sm_twitter_washingtonpost

Keep in mind that the majority of University Presidents also receive a housing allowance, vehicle and additional perks. Furthermore, many also earn extra bucks by sitting on a variety of Boards across corporate America.

Quite the package....

Sounds like those people are all board members and stockholders in the dirtiest company in America....

Corruption Incorporated

They don't trade on the NYSE either !!

As a student in the CSU system I can tell you that a good portion of the faculty live in fantasy land. Just today a professor told me he thinks they will have to strike next year. They're angry about a lack of cost of living increases. Go figure.

There are bright spots though. Our engineering dean has secured a lot of money from area businesses to support the department during the budget crisis, and he's been making life extremely uncomfortable for tenured faculty that don't perform.