Private Salaries, Public Employees

The University of California is at a crossroads of sorts. The 10-campus system remains one of the elite systems in the country and the world, but a burgeoning college eligible population--and a shrinking budget--are making it more difficult to be competitive with private universities. Last spring, my alma mater, UC Berkeley (and my alma mater department) had the Department of Political Science renamed after Charles Travers who generously donated $12 million to the school. That's great. Private alumni philanthropy is--and should be--there to help the university. But the UC Regents are considering using private funds to bolster the salaries of 42 of the highest paid administrators in order to attract--and keep top talent at UC. With the dean of the Berkeley law school, Boalt, already trying to push the idea of privatizing, state leaders must soon begin to reckon with the economic realities of UC.