The Advocate, April 20, 2008, Sunday
Copyright 2008 Capital City Press
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The Advocate
April 20, 2008, Sunday
Main Edition
SECTION: B; Pg. 06
BODY:
Who knew the path to riches led through the university president's office?
A bidding war for talent is under way out there, and highly regarded university presidents are, well, highly regarded.
The latest controversy in academia is about Mark Yudof, president of the University of Texas system, who is getting a pay package of more than $800,000 a year to become president of the University of California. The UC system presidency is probably the most prestigious public university job in the world, and perhaps that's why Yudof took it for "only" a 12 percent pay raise.
Private universities with big endowments might pay more, but Ronald Ehrenberg, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at Cornell University, said the public jobs are seen as tougher because of politics and dealing with state legislatures. "I wish they didn't have to do this," Ehrenberg told The Los Angeles Times. "I wish there were really great people who were willing to work for less. But we don't observe that to be happening."
Yudof's predecessor earned half of the new man's pay.
Yudof's hiring and pay package come at a time when the UC system faces serious budget cuts, and union representatives called the salary for Yudof a slap in the face of employees having to do more with less. Some experts agree: Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education in San Jose, Calif., said the Board of Regents hiring Yudof should have been more cautious in the current economic squeeze.
What's the wise thing to do? Louisiana's been through this controversy with former LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert, who got a controversial salary that he improved upon when he went to the University of Washington. But Emmert was regarded as doing a good job for LSU, and he left for a job in his home state. The lure of home is something people can relate to.
But where is home? Where the paycheck is? There's arguably a problem with short-term leadership tenures in complex institutions. Outsiders seeking to move to higher-paying jobs might not stay as long.
One can't prove a negative, but one wonders if there wasn't - among the numerous six-figure earners who were UC college presidents and administrators - someone who could be promoted and do a good job? And maybe even stay longer? The idea of itinerant college presidents - Yudof's been at Minnesota, Texas and now California - seems outrageous compared with the long tenures of the giants in higher education's past: Robert Hutchins at Chicago, James Bryant Conant at Harvard, Clark Kerr at California.
Another issue: golden handcuffs, as the saying goes.
University presidents such as Conant or Hutchins were what is known as "public intellectuals." They spoke out on national issues and were lightning rods for controversy, but the eminence of their positions helped them to contribute to public debate on issues beyond the university.
Today's richly paid college president is expected to deliver for his college. His employers will not welcome a controversial speech on say, immigration policy, that tries to lead the national conversation.
For $800,000 a year, Yudof should chase off some contributors by demonstrating public leadership? The regents might not like that at all.
In terms of dealing with legislatures, high-paid public employees - such as the handsomely compensated Stephen Moret, head of Louisiana's Department of Economic Development, or state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek - learn quickly that legislators don't necessarily make big bucks, and there's an underlying resentment when they take testimony, much less political directives, from people who do.
Mitigating factors for Moret and Pastorek are that they are locals, and in both cases can argue they are serving for less than they made in the private sector. They don't fit the profile of the hired gun who will move on.
But Yudof certainly does. And we'll see how he surfs the bumpy waves of budget cuts, fat paycheck in hand.
LOAD-DATE: April 20, 2008
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