MUTH’S TRUTHS

Defenders of the sky-high salaries paid to both of Nevada’s university presidents - over $400,000 a year - point to the fact that only about half of their money and benefits come directly from Nevada taxpayers, with the rest coming from private money via university foundations. And while those university foundations are considered “private,” they fall completely under the supervision and control of the University Board of Regents. So while technically “private,” they’re anything but independent of the system.

For a closer look at this situation, let’s consider the UNLV Foundation. This is an organization with its own budget and staff which goes out to private individuals and companies and raises money to augment the millions and millions of dollars Nevada taxpayers are already shoveling into the state’s higher education system.

And this isn’t some mom-and-pop rinky-dink operation. This is a huge, and hugely expensive fundraising machine, as indicated just by the staffing and salaries listed for the UNLV Foundation on UNLV’s own website. Take a look at this…

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $43,806.24

ADMINISTRATIVE AID - $25,807.68

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONS - $74,165.00

PROGRAM OFFICER - $43,806.24

DIRECTOR, GIFT PLANNING - $104,066.00

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, LIBERAL ARTS - $82,620.00

CONTROLLER - $115,000.00

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR - $51,156.00

COORDINATOR OF STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS - $40,800.00

DIRECTOR, CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - $118,284.00

EVENTS MANAGER - $58,515.00

DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, ANNUAL GIVING - $54,570.00

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $37,041.12

ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT - $45,768.96

DIRECTOR, DONOR RELATIONS - $104,190.00

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, COLLEGE OF BUSINESS - $91,181.00

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - $86,369.00

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $30,192.48

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS - $118,741.00

DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, ANNUAL GIVING - $58,650.00

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $30,192.48

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $41,968.80

MANAGER OF PROSPECT RESEARCH - $55,080.00

DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST - $43,000.00

DIRECTOR, ANNUAL GIVING - $82,245.00

DIRECTOR, RECORDS & RESEARCH - $99,543.00

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS - $97,704.00

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $38,565.36

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $41,968.80

DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE - $45,321.00

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $31,424.40

DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR - $62,688.00

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT - $97,594.00

SR ASSOC VP, DEVELOPMENT; EXEC DIR, UNLV FOUNDATION - $174,420.00

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $30,192.48

ACCOUNTANT AND REAL ESTATE MANAGER - $67,581.00

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - $32,739.84

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, GREENSPUN COLLEGE- $69,912.00

ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT - $41,968.80

DIRECTOR OF SCHOLARSHIP & TRIBUTE GIVING- $85,968.00

All these people help raise money which the foundation then gives to the university to use as the foundation sees fit - not as the taxpayers, regents or even the chancellor sees fit. In other words, if a private donor gives money “earmarked” for the “Culture of Pizza” course, that’s where the money has to go. It can’t go, say, to help fund a Physics or Engineering course.

Is this right for a public university? Shouldn’t the private money being raised by the foundation be directed to where the chancellor and/or the regents and/or the taxpayers think it should go?

And doesn’t private money going to a public employee present a dual-loyalty concern? When a policy conflict arises, does the university president do what’s in the public’s interest or what’s in the foundation’s interest? And how is this different from, say, a private real estate developer giving a county commissioner a “consulting” contract to augment the commissioner’s public salary?

This mixture of public and private money has also had the effect of distorting the market value of both the university’s programs and the staff salaries.

If you want to learn about the “History of the Beatles” or the “Culture of Pizza,” do that outside the taxpayer-subsidized public university system. That’s just not “higher ed” no matter how you define it. And if you want to make the “big bucks” in higher education, go teach at Harvard or Yale or some other private institution which is subject to true market competition.

Or better yet, why not just completely privatize Nevada’s two public universities and provide taxpayer-funded tuition assistance, grants and scholarships to students rather than having the government actually running them?

Of course, that’s not going to happen. And some can make a compelling argument in favor of the university foundations raising private, voluntary donations to augment these public education institutions and beef up the salaries of executives and teachers without further burdening the already over-burdened taxpayer. But that then raises another question:

If establishing private foundations to raise voluntary contributions to augment the already generous funding provided these public schools by taxpayers at the university level is a good idea, why isn’t it a good idea for the public schools at the K-12 level?

Seriously. Instead of the public K-12 schools trying to get more money by forcefully taking it via government-imposed tax hikes, why don’t they go out and create their own private foundations and then try to EARN the additional support for their operations, just like UNLV and UNR do?

Hmmmmm.

Posted on December 23rd, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada