Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

I’m so glad that we have our priorities straight. 😉

Today, in Long Beach, the California State University (CSU) trustees approved 10% pay increases, the maximum allowed, for two campus presidents after administrators forecast sweeping cuts that will deny college admission to thousands of students.

It looks like traditional methods of “dumbing down” the electorate by the 1% are just too slow!

With a looming $750 million cut in state funding for the next academic year, administrators are planning to halt MOST spring 2013 admissions, which will affect about 16,000 students.

CSU trustees approved a base salary of $303,660 for CSU East Bay President Leroy Morishita and $324,500 for CSU Fullerton President Mildred Garcia, as well as $12,000 car allowances and $60,000 housing allowances for each. CSU administrators say the increases are necessary to attract and retain top executive talent.

Although I cannot speak to the qualifications of the two CSU presidents above, I have heard the same argument raised to defend exorbitant salaries and benefits in academia and corporations alike! And yet, we continue to get greedy, incompetent executives that have caused both country-wide and worldwide financial crises while lining their pockets, in the private sector, and academic executives who get salary increases while thousands of students are denied a college education. I would be very interested to learn more about how CSU MEASURES the management effectiveness of its “top executive talent” (or how corporations do ), but I suspect the measurements occur behind closed doors in some mutual “back-scratching” sessions.

State Sen. Leland Yee, who has introduced a bill to cap campus presidents’ pay increases while tuition is being hiked, called the amounts “shocking.”

“When the students are suffering, CSU should not be handing out such exorbitant executive compensation,” the San Mateo Democrat said.

The enrollment freeze for spring 2013 will exempt a handful of campuses that will admit several hundred community college transfers. About 70,000 students apply for spring admission.

Assistant Vice Chancellor Robert Turnage also warned that administrators are also preparing for another $200 million cut if voters reject the November referendum on tax increases. CSU plans to hold off on admitting students for fall 2013 until after the election. If the tax measures fail, fall enrollment would be cut another 20,000 students and 3,000 employees laid off.

Accepted applicants for fall 2013 admission will be wait-listed and notified that it is due to funding. The system enrolls about 417,000 students.

Well, at least greed and ignorance have SOMETHING in common:

Neither has limits.

-Bill at

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