Campus salaries soar

The cost of “higher education” has been inflating faster than medical care or just about anything for years now. Why is that? It is almost entirely due to more expensive administration. There should be outrage at these escalating prices for tuition and other expenses for students.
The president of the University of Washington makes over $900,000 a year plus expenses, second in the nation among public university presidents. The WSU president isn’t far behind at over $700,000. And they have a free mansion to live in plus other “perks.” Think of the millions that are lavished on all the other administrators. A provost gets over $400,000. Twenty-one private college presidents make over a million. What happened to regent responsibility?
The median salary for a public university president is now $436,000. You can hardly call these folks “public servants.” Do they think they are working on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, where the average pay is $600,000, which is subsidized by taxpayers? That is just like public higher education, come to think of it.
After their luxury-living lifestyle, surely these people are making huge charitable contributions, right? There is a TV program about this phenomenon. The title: “American Greed”!

More letters by Bart Haggin

• Zehm wasn't in a paradeFebruary 2, 2012
• Memo traces politicsOctober 3, 2011
• It's all in the memoMarch 18, 2011
• Cells oversoldFebruary 18, 2011
• Jail site choice a crimeDecember 13, 2010