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On trend with a 17 percent decrease in state higher education funding over the past decade, Oakland University is once again facing cuts that beg for budget realignments.
Students, staff and faculty have a chance to influence the budget and changes made to it during an open budget forum on Wednesday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m. in the Banquet Rooms.
Russi sent an email to faculty Monday that said sacrifices made by faculty and other campus community members “have been much needed and greatly appreciated” and that OU has to “face yet another year of imminent sacrifices.”
He assured faculty members that the reopening of the contract negotiated in 2009 following a work stoppage will not be considered.
Oakland University President Gary Russi makes $350,000 a year, good enough to place him at No. 57 in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s latest study of the pay of 185 public college presidents.
Russi’s salary was $250,000 a few years ago before receiving a $100,000 raise in 2009 to bring his salary more in line with School of Medicine Dean Robert Folberg, who makes $380,000 a year.
But as you can read in this week’s Day of the Life feature, Russi is up at 5 a.m. every day and takes only a 15-minute break throughout a jam-packed day that doesn’t end until 11 p.m. We should, of course, note that he also receives a car and a house, pushing his total cost of employment to $436,650, according to the Chronicle.
That might seem like too much or too little, depending on who you ask, but we want readers to focus on something besides Russi’s pay.
The Chronicle reports that taxpayers have put the pressure on college presidents with high salaries. In fall 2009, Russi made a “personal and a family decision” to donate $100,000 of his pay to the university. It was announced during a faculty open forum during a contentious time for professors, who had just taken salary freezes for the year.
The sacrifices made by Russi and the faculty will probably be noted by the board of trustees when the budget is discussed, but what about the silent majority?
Governor Rick Snyder’s proposed budget strongly discourages OU from raising tuition more than 7.1 percent. The American Association of University Professors says a 5.8 percent increase would be enough to recoup any losses in state funding.
It’s not a good sign that tuition is becoming the main revenue stream for most public universities. Other avenues should be considered before jumping to the conclusion of raising tuition.
While we understand every group on campus has made sacrifices, students should not be the ones making the most of them.
Every time tuition is raised, it affects thousands of students who are currently or about to be matriculated. In comparison, there are about 1,000 faculty members and 14 people on the President’s Council and Division.
Students have almost no choice but to absorb the consequences of whatever cost increases are thrown their way because 62 percent of Michigan’s jobs in 2018 will require postsecondary training.
We encourage everyone to attend next Wednesday’s budget forum to represent their interests.
