Dive Brief:
- UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi has apologized for her work with DeVry Education Group and textbook publisher John Wiley & Sons alongside her university duties.
- The Los Angeles Times reports Katehi had a $70,000-per-year position with embattled for-profit educator DeVry and accepted $420,000 over three years from Wiley in addition to her $424,360 chancellor’s salary, which has prompted calls for Katehi’s resignation and launched a conversation in the legislature about limiting outside paid jobs by university officials.
- While Katehi said she would donate all stock proceeds earned from the Wiley board position to a student scholarship fund and UC President Janet Napolitano has maintained support of the chancellor, the legislature plans to hold hearings on moonlighting policies in the near future.
Dive Insight:
Administrator compensation has been the focus of criticism in higher education for years. With rising tuition costs and average student debt, unseemly payouts to top leaders at public schools have particularly riled state legislatures. In Illinois, the state limited community college board autonomy with two new bills that regulate presidential contract procedures and the maximum severance pay amount. The bills followed a $763,000 severance deal for the controversial College of DuPage president as well as a legislative investigation into the excessive benefits at public colleges.
At the University of Texas at Austin, president Gregory Fenves requested a lower base salary than he was offered ($750,000 instead of $1 million) to pre-empt a backlash. But boards maintain they need to offer high salaries to compete for talent with the corporate sector.