Where the profits of "the greatest public research university in the world" go
How long is the illusion that UC is a public university to go on? Or for that mater the CSU system?
We should be grateful that the CSU chief voluntarily takes a 10-percent cut in pay while tuitions continue to rise? If we had a functional loegislture he would not have had to make the agaonizing decision all by himself but would have been aided by elected officials in Sacramento.
But, the real problem remains the UC system, specifically the new chancellor of UC Berkeley, who took a $50,000 increase in wages over his successor, amounting to a grand total of $486,800.
That's just nothing but management taking profits from a corrupt and lying enterprise, once for the people of California, now for entrepreneurial college administrators, identified as frauds and hucksters als long ago as the career of Thrsten Veblen, America's greatest economist.
But the children of River City march on. The University of California has become a disgraceful joke, a plaything of its plutocratic board of regents who demonstrate every day in every way their incompetence at any activity but wholesale grand larceny.
The article below however is the chirping of the spurned. Fresno did not get the Valley UC campus it should have so now compare one relatively civilzed gesture by the CSU chief to help us forget the multiple and ongoing scandals of "academic leadership" at CSU Fresno,
Badlands Journal
11-30-12
Fresno Bee
EDITORIAL: There is more to executive pay than just the salary
Berkeley chancellor's pay hike doesn't fit with state's finances.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/11/30/v-print/3083427/editorial-there-is-m...
Good leaders understand the importance of setting an example. The new chancellor of the California State University system, Timothy P. White, took it upon himself to request a 10% pay cut from the salary that his predecessor received for leading the 23-campus system.
But over at the University of California, administrators don't seem to understand the importance of such symbolism. The new chancellor for UC Berkeley, Nicholas B. Dirks, will receive an 11.4% pay hike over what the current Berkeley chancellor makes.
UC President Mark Yudof, who oversees the 10 UC campuses, including Berkeley, said the additional $50,000 for Dirks will be privately funded, and the bill for the "taxpayers of California," is the same. Dirks, executive vice president at Columbia University, will be paid $486,800 annually.
We side with Gov. Jerry Brown on this question. The governor opposed the salary increase, while supporting Dirks' appointment. Brown said the increase isn't part of the "spirit of servant leadership." In this economic environment, UC must operate much more modestly, he said.
This salary increase comes just weeks after California voters approved Proposition 30, a tax increase that will help fund public schools and colleges in the state.
Given the state's financial problems, UC, as well as all other state agencies, can't continue business as usual in paying executive salaries. Yudof argues that the UC system must be able to compete against the best universities in the country in recruiting talent.
We believe that Dirks would have been adequately compensated at his predecessor's salary. Let's not forget the perks that come with running one of the nation's most prestigious universities: A car allowance of almost $9,000 a year; an on-campus mansion to live in; a relocation allowance of $30,425 over four years, and early eligibility for retiree health care. In addition, his wife, a professor at Columbia, is expected to get a teaching position at UC Berkeley.
If Dirks is going to be successful at UC Berkeley, he must understand the state's finances, and the symbolism of his big raise. Budget cuts have taken funding from UC, while students have endured repeated tuition hikes.
Good leaders must know how to set an example.