UT must avoid another embarrassment
The latest revelations in the princely lifestyle of former UT president John Shumaker underscore the need for sober reflection on a flawed process that has produced two flawed results in a row.
Here are two modest proposals for avoiding future Shumaker shenanigans: lower the base salary and recruit more from within Tennessee.
Does the UT president really deserve a base salary of $365,000 a year, plus a mansion, airplane, and all the other perks that come with that office? I seriously doubt it, especially in these trying times for Tennessee.
Higher education has borne the brunt of budget cuts and tuition increases in recent years. Meanwhile, thousands of Tennesseans are unemployed or underemployed. How, then, can we justify such outrageous compensation for the few at the expense of the many?
By the way, that $365,000 a year is more than four times what we pay our governor, more than 10 times what many of our college professors make, and nearly 14 times the per capita personal income of hard-working Tennesseans who foot the bill for these extravagant expenditures. No amount of rationalization about “being competitive in the marketplace” can justify gouging Tennessee taxpayers to lure the truly greedy to head our institutions of higher learning.
Instead, we need to look much harder within Tennessee for outstanding men and women who meet the criteria for educational leadership at UT. Moreover, we need to add a clear ethical dimension to those criteria.
The cumulative effect of lowering the president’s salary and recruiting more from within Tennessee just might produce a salutary result: a competent, creative, compassionate leader who puts service to others above service to self.
Thomas B. Vaughn
212 Morrison Street
McMinnville