These poor little RA staff members...

[Gabe]

Some of you may recall a previous post of mine where I took a jab at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Well, here I go again.

From the Knoxville News Sentinel: "UT staff take pay cut"

From the article: "Petersen has 24 administrators reporting directly to him, including 15 vice presidents, three chancellors and two athletic directors. All have six-figure salaries, generally ranging from $160,000 to $313,065; 19 have university-provided Chevrolet Impalas; and most have expense allowances ranging from $2,000 to $25,000. Petersen’s salary has been $432,000."

This, of course, if you believe Petersen is all because of the state's impending $100 million budget shortfall.

Don't get me wrong. I'm okay with a university paying top dollar to attract top-quality talent. I would think (perhaps naively) a six figure salary would be enough for most people. Why, then, would a state supported university provide such absurd perks? Am I missing something? Read some of the comments about the article. Most people are pretty pissed and a few others state they aren't overwhelmingly impressed with UTK to begin with.

Let's put this in perspective: On May 17th, 2008 the News Sentinel reported "Budget cut means no UT raises" because of a 5.7% cut in state funding. Jan Simek, the interim chancellor, said at the time that there would be no hiring freezes. Whoops! Fast forward to a December 10th, 2008 News Sentinel article "Petersen announces hiring freeze at UT, defends Fulmer's appointment". President Petersen announces a hiring freeze right after hiring recently fired football coach Phil Fulmer (as one of Petersen's "special assistants" for a 3 month appointment at a pay rate of $12,500. (Fulmer rightfully sensed an ensuing shit storm and opted not to take the position)

Oh, how could I forget? The College of Veterinary Medicine is on the verge of losing programmatic accreditation and on November 26th Gov. Bresden rejected Petersen's plea for financial assistance for the program. THAT was November 26th. Just yesterday it was reported, again in the News Sentinel, that UTK administrative offices (which includes Petersen's) recently underwent a $500,000 renovation. The article would have you believe the funds were set aside way back in 2006 for this project and, even if that's true, it makes little difference IMO in light of this budget crisis.

The budget was cut. Then more cuts came because of the overall state budget shortfall. All the while staff members cruised around in 19 university furnished Chevrolet Impalas with some fat expense accounts. The veterinary program is about to tank. Staff members take pay cuts. Other staff members are laid-off. Class sizes swell as a result & what professors/lecturers remain have an increased workload = less research opportunities. BUT, hell, let's go ahead a hire someone for $12,000 a month and upgrade our offices for half a million.

Frankly, all of this makes my head spin. I'm going to take a "brain break" and see if anyone has something to say/add about this fiasco.

[ham]

Quote:I would think (perhaps naively) a six figure salary would be enough for most people.

You forgot that university pundits & high administrator supply the 'background cheering noise' to their favorite politicians. It's like a sex worker enlisting another sex worker to provide 'references' when she opts for marriage.