Drew Faust Rakes It In
Posted on May 20th, 2010 in Uncategorized | 12 Comments »
As some of you may remember, I’ve suggested a few times on this blog that, given that Harvard was firing dozens of low-paid staff and pressuring many others into early retirement, while the upper administration got off entirely scot free, it might be a nice gesture for Drew Faust to take a voluntary pay cut.
Boy, am I naive sometimes.
Rather than setting an example of executive leadership, Faust, during the country’s worst recession since the Great Depression, at the exact time when Harvard’s endowment was dropping in value by a 10-digit increment,even as faculty and staff were compelled to take a pay freeze, has accepted a raise with open arms and stuffed pockets.
After making $775, 043 in compensation and benefits for the 2007-2008 school year, Faust received $822, 011 for the 2008-2009 school year—a raise of about $50k, or six percent.
To date Faust has been a competent if undistinguished president, surely one of the softest voices in American higher education. On what basis is she getting this raise?
Forget taking a pay cut in order to lead by example. What about merely not accepting a raise in order to lead by example? Can she really need the money?
It’s a classic example of how progressive principles are so lightly jettisoned the second that greed kicks in.
(By the way, has the Crimson even covered this? I can’t find a story on it.)
12 Responses
5/20/2010 9:09 am
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/5/18/harvard-pay-irs-2008/
5/20/2010 9:16 am
Thanks for the link.
5/20/2010 9:21 am
There is no raise, Richard. There were no raises for senior officers, deans, any of those folks. Subtract benefits (housing etc) and I think you’ll see the ‘pure’ salary figure may actually be a little lower.
5/20/2010 9:34 am
That’s incorrect, Anon-pure salary in 2007-2008 was $639k, and in 2008-2009 it was $671k.
5/20/2010 9:38 am
No, Richard — that 671K salary is before & during the financial crisis (08-09). Everyone would have got raises for the year starting July 1, 1008. The no-raises would apply to this current year (09-10) — you’ll see, just not until 2011.
5/20/2010 9:52 am
I would be delighted to be proved wrong, Anon. Let’s talk again in a year. In any event, I still think that turning down the raise, or taking a pay cut, would have been an inspiring example of good governance during a time of crisis. Particularly for the leader of a non-profit institution, even if it doesn’t always feel that way.
5/20/2010 9:54 am
Incidentally, Anon, if the president accepted a pay freeze in 2009-10, why not announce it now? From a PR and governance perspective, it’d certainly be a smart move, and what’s the argument against it (other than Harvard’s natural inclination toward secrecy)?
That there’s been no such statement (at least, that I’ve seen) is less than confidence-inspiring.
5/20/2010 10:09 am
Richard, there’s been plenty about it in the Resource, the monthly newsletter for all Harvard employees:
Here’s the VP Finance in Feb 09:
“The president, the provost and the Council of Deans have agreed to budget on the assumption that there will be no salary increases for exempt employees and faculty this academic year.”
Here’s the VP Personnel in March 09:
“At the next level of impact, we’re not giving salary increases for faculty and exempt staff in July, which will save $28 million, plus fringe benefits.”
This is from a Q&A earlier this year (2010):
“Pay guidelines are developed in the context of Harvard’s overall financial health, which includes endowment income, as well as revenue from grant funding and tuition, both of which are down. As you know, owing to these and other factors, the University is in the midst of a financial crisis. No salary increases were given to nonunion employees (exempt staff and faculty) last year. Again, as described above, this was across Harvard, not based on the funding source for a particular exempt position.”
5/20/2010 10:14 am
Anon again-there’s plenty of wiggle room in those statements. After all, it’s the Corporation-not the president, the provost or the Council of Deans—that sets the president’s salary.
5/20/2010 10:15 am
Note, too, the lack of a clear statement from the president saying that she is not accepting a raise.
5/20/2010 11:25 am
The burden of proof falls on DGF and she could put the issue to rest in about a minute.
5/20/2010 7:56 pm
As my five-year-old says, That’s not very instrerating.
Really just pleased I finally figured out how to spell that.