06 March 2012

$37,000 Chancellor Pay

UC Davis is mentioned in a Slate piece investigating skyrocketing compensation of public university executives as an example of such excesses. Chancellor Katehi's $400,000+ yearly compensation is compared to Chancellor Mrak's 1969 compensation of $37,000 (inflation-adjusted: $226,000). Mrak's successor, Meyer, was hired in 1974 with annual compensation of $47,000 (corresponding to $214,000 when adjusted) and left in 1987 with compensation of $98,000 (which adjusts to an amount, $195,000, which is actually lower than the one is was hired at). Did we mention that Mrak and Meyer actually knew how to deal with student protests?

The cause of such excesses, at least at UC: a decision by then UC Senior Vice President Ron Brady to peg the pay of top administrators to private sector standards, instead of to state public servant pay (as bemoaned by Clark Kerr in a 1999 interview).

CalState vs. Harvard

In the meantime, it appears that a middle-class student attending Harvard University will end up with a lower bill than one attending a California State School. Go figure.

Not Surprised

Somehow we are not surprised that the long-awaited report of the Reynoso task force has yet again been delayed. This time because of a temporary restraining order being filed this morning by the police union in Alameda County Superior Court.

Could it be that the police officers involved in the pepper spraying have something that they'd rather not be made public? Don't they know that attempts to prevent the release of information are bound to make you look guilty?

There are several other investigations of the Nov. 18 pepper spraying that are still ongoing, including an internal investigation by UC PD internal affairs, which could possibly result in disciplinary actions against the officers involved (the by now infamous Lt. Pike, Chief Spicuzza, and another yet unnamed officer).

02 March 2012

At long last

From the UC Davis Academic Senate:
The release of the Reynoso Task Force Report on the Pepper Spray Incident is scheduled for March 6. Former California Supreme Court Associate Justice Cruz Reynoso, chair of the task force, announced today that the group will outline its findings and recommendations to the UC Davis community on Tuesday, March 6 [...].  The task force findings, recommendations and background documents will be made available on the UC Davis home page at noon on Tuesday, March 6. A live webcast of the public meeting will also be accessible from the campus home page.