Tag Archives: budget cuts

More on Faculty Salaries

Ezra Silk ’10 was inspired by our earlier post about Michael Roth’s salary to do a little digging through other people’s tax returns and provide us with some interesting research on faculty compensation. Thanks Ezra. Check out his article in the Blargus. Highlights include:

Thomas Kannam, VP & Chief Investment Officer: $460, 610

Barbara Jan Wilson, VP President for University Relations: $260, 334

John Meerts, VP for Finance and Administration: $240, 060

Jeanine Basinger, Chair of the Film Studies Department: $213,420

Many of those who commented on our earlier post bemoaned the fact that many of our program budgets have been cut while our president is paid so much money. Just to clarify the discussion, we are working on compiling a list of the programs whose budgets have been cut. (Any help in this effort would be appreciated.)

It’s Getting Hot in Hurr… NOT

finished_chickenIn this unseasonably chilly weather, nothing feels better than snuggling up in your bed with your Wesleyan (TM) blanket, gently baking like a beautifully seasoned chicken. But lately I’ve felt more like the chicken in the freezer at the supermarket, cold and unloved by whomever is controlling the heat.

My woodframe has had to call Physical Plant 3 days in a row because we didn’t have any heat. And each time PPlant came in, did their thing, and left. The heat came back and we rejoiced until we slowly realized that we were wearing multiple layers INSIDE.

Anyway, that’s nothing to post about in and of itself, but it seems that this is not an isolated incident. Apparently Fauver (senior at least) has been having some heating problems as well.

And if you went to Usdan tonight, you might have noticed that there were only paper plates and plastic silverware and cups. My naive self thought it had something to do with trying out new eco-friendly options in the dining areas. But then a deductively-gifted individual suggested that it was because they had no hot water to wash the normal diningware. Anybody know the story? [EDIT (11:23 pm): The commenters have spoken, check it out below.]

But the worst part is this: a little birdie told me that budget cuts are responsible for at least some of these problems. According to this source, maintenance wasn’t done when it should have been this summer and now we’re dealing with the consequences. Hmmm….. somebody has some ‘splainin to do.

In the mean time, let’s assess the situation. Commenters, help me out- are you feeling the heat?

Should the budget for financial aid be cut?

WSA representatives Micah Feiring ’11 and Ben Firke 12′ think not.

financial_aid

This Sunday they are bringing a resolution to the WSA that calls on the University not to cut the financial aid budget. To read what they have to say on the issue check out Ben’s post on the WSA blog.

Orientation being cut to 5 days

prefrosh-ring

New Student Orientation is being cut down to 5 days from its original 7 days, as part of the university’s ongoing cost-saving measures. This will start with the class of 2014’s orientation next fall. According to Tim Shiner (the University’s Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development), the administration is seeking to work with students to figure out which parts of orientation are most effective and which events should be moved into an “Extended Orienation” schedule (programs for freshmen to occur in the first few weeks of September).

One way to send your feedback is through the WSA survey that is open until midnight on Friday. If there are particular programs that you thought were effective during your orientation, if you think Bilegatas need to happen within the first 5 days that 2014ers are on campus, or if Unspeakable Acts changed your life, let the WSA know! If you have already filled out the WSA survey but still want your voice to be heard, send Tim Shiner (tshiner(at)wesleyan(dot)edu) your support and/or critique of orientation programs.

[thanks to Jegadish Gunasagaran ’11 for the tip]