January 28, 2007
Wanna Make Lots of Money? Be a University President
Check this out:
January 28, 2007 -- COLUMBIA University President Lee Bollinger lives large. The educator, who pulls down an annual $685,930 in salary and benefits, had the largest expense account of any of the Ivy League school chiefs, racking up $93,743 for the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the student-run Columbia Spectator newspaper reports. The university declined to give Page Six a breakdown.
As Kitty says, "and they complain about CEOs." Where's the outrage? Aren't universities supposed to be above such petty things as (gasp) money? Aren't college-level educators worried about the wage gap between people who make as much as Bollinger and the rest of us? Ah, it's always different when you're the one making the big bucks, eh?
(BTW, Columbia is where the Minutemen were basically forced offstage by a bunch of student thugs. To my knowledge, Bollinger has yet to do something substantive about it.)
Think this guy will ever make the AFL-CIO's Executive Paywatch?
Show Comments »
Arnold Kling at TCS Daily has part of the answer in reform. Apparently parents will not have enough sense to pull the strings upon the university system. (ONe writer has said that the government so subsidizes the average public education that the system is self perpetuating.) I am not sure how we get to the free market envisioned below.
(quote below)
"The best sign of a vibrant education sector would be more institutional failure. With sufficient competition and innovation, we would see colleges and universities fold or merge at the same rate as ordinary businesses. We would see schools shut down because parents send their children elsewhere. We would see large layoffs in some school systems, with hiring taking place among successful start-ups."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=012207B
Posted by: jng at January 28, 2007 09:00 AMI have to say, a $700,000 salary is not that exorbinant when compared with the CEO salaries that the press is so outraged. I disagree with that outrage as well, but trying to draw a parallel to university presidents seems a bit thin to me.
Posted by: RFTR at January 28, 2007 07:30 PMSure, many CEOs make much more than that. But I believe university presidents also have their housing provided. I'd love not to have to pay for a mortgage, etc.
I guess the point I was trying to make was that university personnel are often very vocal about their opposition to anyone who makes six figures or more...and that university presidents who make this kind of money with no one blinking an eye seems kind of hypocritical.
Posted by: Pam at January 28, 2007 08:19 PM
