Sunday, June 21, 2009
Radford University's president is overpaid
Christian Trejbal
Recent columns
- Voters have only themselves to blame
- Money flows freely to local candidates
- Candidates contemplate a little big-box store
- Don't roll over for Sam's Club
From the RoundTable blog
Let's get the groan-inducing yet appropriate line out of the way now. Radford University President Penelope Kyle has won the lottery.
Last week, the folks who run the school awarded a sweetheart contract to the former Virginia Lottery director with no background in academia. It includes $1 million just to stick around for a few more years.
When rumors regarding her compensation package dogged Kyle in 2007, I wrote a column dispelling misconceptions and defending her performance.
I cannot do that this time.
Members of the board of visitors are supposed to act in the best interest of the public and the university. Instead, they rewarded their pet president. They should hang their heads in shame. Better yet, they should consider resigning in embarrassment. Radford deserves better stewardship.
The week before last, the board awarded to Kyle a new base salary of $290,299. Perks include a car, house, six weeks of vacation and a two-month paid sabbatical if she wants it.
And more cash.
Up to $5,000 for personal tax and financial planning.
Up to $5,000 for club memberships.
A $1,500 monthly automobile allowance.
Performance bonuses up to 5 percent of her base salary or $14,515.
And the $1 million bonus if she stays for five years. The Radford University Foundation will set aside $200,000 each year that she loses if she leaves early. Some members of the foundation board had worried they might not have sufficient funds to cover this obligation, what with being down several million during the recession, but the foundation approved it anyway.
Add it all up, and Kyle could earn $532,814 annually, double what she earned a couple of years ago.
The board cited several accomplishments to justify their beneficence. She has secured funding for capital projects, earned state approval to award some graduate degrees and issued a nebulous 10-year strategic plan.
And, lest anyone forget, the Highlanders men's basketball team won the Big South Conference and went to NCAA March Madness. The board actually included this on its list. Presumably, her outstanding leadership inspired their on-court performance, though not the star player indicted on charges of breaking and entering and grand larceny.
The other side of the ledger, the side the board does not like to talk about, is much less flattering. Kyle's time at Radford so far will be remembered for missteps and inept communication with the campus community and the public.
She hired a provost and fired him after less than a year. Then she enraged faculty by implementing an "expedited review" of academic programs that came off as nothing more than a pretense to eliminate programs the administration disliked.
She and her administration ignored faculty and student complaints. These days, her popularity with a large cross-section of the campus ranges from low to loathed.
The tone-deafness peaked at a March question and answer session for students, staff and faculty. Rather than addressing issues in which people were interested, she declared, "I get to choose the questions." So much for a dialogue.
Thanks to the board's unwarranted generosity, the Radford community can look forward to five more years of this. She will not likely walk away from her $1 million jackpot.
Did the board of visitors really think some other school would hire her away? Did they think that would be a bad thing?
Maybe, just maybe, the board could have justified a short-term contract extension with an ultimatum that Kyle shape up and build relationships with the Radford community.
Then again, maybe she needs the money. At that March meeting, she commiserated with students, staff and faculty who were facing tough financial times because of the current recession. "I'm personally not living like I used to live," she announced.
Apparently it takes a half million dollars per year to keep the Radford president in the lifestyle to which she has grown accustomed.
