The Poppletonian, by Laurie Taylor, a satirical column in The Times Higher Education recently offered this -
They Deserve Every Penny
Why all the grumbling about the fat pay rises recently handed out to many vice-chancellors? Agreed, some of the pay packages – such as the £466,000 paid to the incoming director of the London School of Economics in 2012-13 – will strike some cynical academics on a salary of £36,000 per annum as marginally excessive. But how many of those cynical bolshies have ever asked themselves how their own university could have gone on retaining its almost identical place in every university league table year after year without the essential leadership provided by their vice-chancellor?
Of course, it’s not all about staying in the same place.
Down at the University of Southampton, which saw a 13 per cent drop in undergraduate acceptances in 2013, they showed what they thought of that old and tired shibboleth “payment by results” by handing their esteemed vice-chancellor, Don Nutbeam, a £19,015 rise in emoluments in 2012-13, taking his overall pay package up to a well-deserved £333,615.
The Poppletonian says: “Hats off to Don and your fellow v‑cs. You deserve every penny.”
(from The Times Higher Education, 9 January 2014)
