National
Presidents of colleges cut own pay
Many of the nation’s highest-paid college administrators are cutting their own salaries as colleges and universities watch their investments fall with the financial markets.
The Chronicle of Higher Education published its annual report on compensation for university presidents last week. Pat Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, said that given the current economic situation, presidents’ pay has become important in schools’ public perception.
In an e-mail to the Washington University community, Chancellor Mark Wrighton announced that his salary will be reduced by 5 percent in January and another 5 percent next July after news that Washington University’s endowment had declined by 25 percent. Wrighton’s announcement came before the Chronicle’s report was released.
President of the University of Pennsylvania Amy Gutmann, one of eight university presidents making more than $1 million in 2006 according to the report, made a $100,000 gift to the University to support undergraduate research.
President of the University of Washington Mark Emmert, the second-highest paid president of a public university, is not taking a raise this year. Elson Floyd, president of Washington State University, announced that he would take a $100,000 pay cut to help with budget problems. (John Scott)
Obama presents economic plan
President-elect Barack Obama offered information on Saturday regarding his economic recovery plan in the weekly Democratic radio address. Obama said that American workers would rebuild roads and bridges, modernize schools and find alternative energy sources for the country.
“The plan will mean 2.5 million more jobs,” Obama said.
Obama said that those jobs will be added by 2011. He said that the plan did not just address the current problems, but also long-term issues that he said have been ignored. Obama said that his economic team is still working out details, but he wants to implement the plan soon after his term begins on January 20, 2009.
In his address, Obama said that inaction would result in millions of job losses in the next year. Obama signaled that he was willing to receive suggestions from both Democrats and Republicans and that bipartisan support would be needed to pass such a plan, but noted that immediate action was important.
Obama noted that 540,000 new unemployment claims were filed in October, the most in 16 years, and that new home purchases were at a 50-year low.
Obama noted that the current economic crisis is impacting current workers, retirees and students trying to pay for college. The address repeated many of the statements that Democrats had made throughout the election. Obama is expected to devote more resources to domestic programs than have been allocated in previous years. (John Scott)
Campus
Psychologist Donald Kausler, WU alum, passes away
Donald Kausler, a leading researcher in aging and memory and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri, died on Thursday of brain cancer at the age of 81. He retired in 1992 after teaching for 21 years.
He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from Washington University at age 23.
Kausler is also known for publishing “The Graying of America,” intended to help readers understand the effects that aging has on memory, after he retired from teaching. The book is now in its third edition and is titled “The Essential guide to Aging in the Twenty-First Century.” He also wrote for the Scripps Howard News Service and was a guest on several radio shows.
Kausler was born in St. Louis on July 16, 1927. He graduated first in his class from McKinley High School when he was 16 and spent part of his career as a psychologist for the U.S. Air Force. (John Scott)
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