Student Life conducted an interview with Chancellor Mark Wrighton after the most recent quarterly meeting of the board of directors on Friday. The discussion involved a review of major events that occurred during the semester.

The median compensation of private university presidents increased 5.5 percent in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, up to $627,750, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual executive compensation survey. The survey’s data came from federal tax documents released before the economic downturn. In light of the economy, many private university presidents have frozen their salaries or, in the case of Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton, taken voluntary pay cuts.

With the nation dealing with an economic downturn and an increasing unemployment rate, universities and colleges are trying to take prudent steps in investing their funds after drastic reductions in their endowments. “What we are trying to do, in this era, is to take prudent steps to make sure that we can thrive as we [...]