OK, How About Those Raises?

What about those hefty raises for UW administrators?

Well, the populists are aghast!!! aghast!!!! I say, in their apoplectic denunciations of the pay ranges now available to UW bigwigs.

The populists are shooting at the wrong target, which is precisely what the Board of Regents wants. Republican legislators should not take this red herring and follow it to their own embarassment.

Has anyone taken a serious look at the job description of the administrators in question? What has the Board of Regents demanded of the UW Administration? What objectives have they been asked to accomplish?

Does the Board demand that the UW Admins find and eradicate waste? "Fall-back" positions? That the Administrator hire only the best subordinates, regardless of "sensitivity" concerns? Does the Board demand that the Administration establish "best practices" metrics and force the UW-System to live up to them, both in terms of academics AND in cost-effectiveness?

Would you pay $1,000,000.00 in salary and bonus to the UW Administrator who saves $50,000,000.00 by accomplishing a few common-sense goals?

I would.

It's not the Administrators. It's the Board. Keep your eyes on the ball, folks.