美国大学校长收入惊人

    但掌管整个州乃至整个国家也非常困难。这些全美薪酬最高的大学校长最引人注目的是，他们的薪酬水平甚至超过了奥巴马总统2010年总额达395,188美元的年薪。当然，这样比较未必公平，因为身为美国总统的奥巴马将有可能此后一辈子拥有报酬丰厚的公开演讲及出书的机会。但是，即便许多州长的薪酬也没有一些大学校长那么高，其中包括加州州长杰瑞•布朗（Jerry Brown），他目前的年薪是212,179美元。

    这种收入不平衡正是加州参议员余胤良（Leland Yee）办公室经常强调指出的。去年，这位旧金山民主党议员提出议案，要求在经济不景气而加州无法为院校筹集资金的年度内，禁止加州大学及加州州立大学为高级管理人员加薪。目前，加州大学校长马克•尤道夫（Mark Yudof ）的年薪为591,000美元——这是加州州长年薪的两倍多。加州州立大学校长查理•里德（Chancellor Charlie）的年薪比尤道夫略低些，但其421,500美元（译注：原文 $421,500,179明显有误，参见http://www.10news.com/news/28498537/detail.html）的年薪仍然远远超过加州州长。

    今年四月，余胤良提出的此项议案没有通过，但大学校长薪酬过高的问题仍然存在。加州上周通过了一项政策。该政策规定，各大院校为校长提供加薪的资金只能来自院校自己筹集到的资金，而不能利用政府的纳税资金。余胤良州议员办公室幕僚长凯云（Adam Keigwin）表示，此项政策还不够令人满意，因为从学校基金中拿出来的资金应该用于向学生发放奖学金，以及帮助降低学生的学杂费。

    凯云此言触及了一个涉及面更为广泛的问题：美国大学是否失去了以服务学生为本的焦点呢？

    确实，大学校长的薪金通常在学校总开支预算中占据相对较小的一部分。全美薪酬最高的公立大学校长——俄亥俄州立大学校长戈登•吉的薪酬总额价值约200万美元，而事实上这与该大学2010-2011学年高达48亿美元的预算相比可谓微乎其微。

    但这并不是重点。问题归结为学校的领导能力——从最高领导层开始的领导能力。

    正如《纽约时报》所述，戈登•吉是一个“败家子”，而且也已采取各种措施来降低该大学的学杂费。但是，与海克合著《高等教育如何浪费钱并辜负孩子？我们该如何应对？》一书的克劳迪亚•德赖弗斯（Claudia Dreifus）表示，戈登•吉似乎想“鱼和熊掌两者兼得”。

    德赖弗斯说：“如果戈登•吉校长想为公立大学经费危机提供一些真正的领导方法的话，那么他可以从自我减薪一半开始做起。”

    翻译：iDo98

    But running an entire state and country is tough, too. What's most striking about the nation's highest paid university presidents is that they boast compensation packages exceeding even President Obama's 2010 annual salary of $395,188. Of course, that might not be a fair comparison, given that being president of the United States will likely lead to a lifetime of lucrative speaking gigs and book deals. But even many state governors don't earn as much as some university presidents, including California Governor Jerry Brown, who currently earns an annual salary of $212,179.

    It's that imbalance that California state Sen. Leland Yee's office often highlights. Last year, the San Francisco Democrat introduced legislation that would prohibit executive pay increases at the University of California and California State University in years when economic times are tough and the state is unable to raise funding for the schools. Currently, University of California President Mark Yudof earns a salary of $591,000 – more than twice the governor's pay. California State's Chancellor Charlie Reed trails slightly behind but still trumps the governor with a salary of $421,500,179.

    In April, Yee's bill was killed but the issue of excessive pay remains. Last week, California State approved a policy whereby pay raises for chancellors would come only from funds raised privately by the university and not from taxpayer dollars. Adam Keigwin, Yee's chief of staff, says that's not good enough, since money from the school's foundation should go toward scholarships and help lower tuition and fees for students.

    Keigwin's remark touches a broader question: Have America's university's lost focus on its students?

    True, when it comes to salaries of university presidents, they generally make up a relatively small portion of schools' overall budgets. Ohio State University's Gee, the nation's highest-paid public university president, has a total pay package worth about $2 million – indeed, tiny compared with the university's $4.8 billion budget for 2010-2011.

    But that's not the point. What it comes down to is leadership – starting at the top.

    As The Times notes, Gee is a "spendthrift" and has taken steps to bring down the university's costs. But it seems as though he wants it both ways, says Claudia Dreifus, who co-author of Higher Education? with Hacker.

    "If President Gee would like to offer some genuine leadership to the public university funding crisis, he could begin by cutting his salary in half," Dreifus says.