California may have finally passed an initiative designed to provide appropriate support for higher education, but a spirit of thrift remains in the state’s public colleges. Well, sort of.
According to a piece by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee:
Timothy P. White [right], California State University’s incoming chancellor, has requested a 10 percent pay cut, saying in a letter to trustees, that he hopes the move will send a signal that “public higher education matters to all of us, and that we each must play a part in the rebuilding.”
More specifically, he recognizes that the state referendum on college financing doesn’t immediately solve the institution’s financial problems.
“Despite the passage of Proposition 30, there remain grave economic issues to solve in California and the California State University. Indeed, the success of Proposition 30 was the voice of the voters and taxpayers of California to start to reinvest in education,” he wrote.
“I also recognize that Californians expect me to properly steward these resources. Consequently, as l join the faculty, staff and students who have experienced cuts, salary freezes, and increased fees, I too must do my part.”
Under the compensation package proposed by White, however, he will still earn a total $410,000 a year. The president of the United States earns only $400,000 annually. White will also enjoy the use of a house worth about $700,000.
It may be a 10 percent pay cut for the CSU system, which shelled out a total $560,000 a year for White’s predecessor, but it’s not really a pay cut for White. He took home only $327,200 last year as the president of the University of California, Riverside. [Image via]
