We’re still behind Katehi
As faculty members at UC Davis, we are submitting this letter to express our strong support for our chancellor, Linda Katehi.
First our perception of the Nov. 18 event: There is no doubt that what happened is unacceptable — indeed, it can only be characterized as police brutality. In the immediate aftermath, our chancellor’s initial email was bureaucratically tepid and, thus, inappropriate. To us, however, the pepper-spray incident is an event that is unacceptable and the poor decision of some rogue, Rambo-style police elements.
We need to uncouple this horrible event from the dedicated work and future potential of our chancellor. Linda Katehi is not only a world-class accomplished engineer, she is not only a warm and sensitive person whose main concern is our university and its students, in these past 2 1/2 years she has accomplished some incredible feats. For starters, she has almost single-handedly placed UC Davis on the map as a recognizable academic force.
We are fortunate that we have a leader of her caliber at the helm. In our estimation, this single unfortunate event is far overshadowed by her dedication and potential to guide UC Davis to greatness in years to come. We are optimistic that great days are ahead for UC Davis, Davis, Sacramento and our region. We still believe, without a single doubt, that our chancellor is the best leader for UC Davis.
Scott Simon and Kerry Athanasiou
Davis
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=109788
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Posted by Letters to the Editor
on Nov 28 2011.
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Scott and Kerry,
You mentioned your appreciation of Chancellor Katehi’s efforts to “put Davis on the map” as an academic force. The question I have been struggling with and pose to you is, at what cost? The most irritating thing to me about her administration is her continual willingness to spend our money trying to attract the “top” administrators to fill open positions. Check out Provost Hexter’s salary and hiring perks, and the circumstances involved in the hiring of the new Director of Admissions ($50k spent on a private contractor just to SEARCH for a candidate!). Let’s get this straight, we are not Stanford with unlimited amounts of money flowing in. We are a public university with a responsibility to provide an affordable education primarily for California students. When students fees are skyrocketing and faculty and staff pay remains stagnant, this is not the time to shop the high end markets. Instead of trying to get that Ivy League administrator or professor, why not recruit from within? Don’t you think we have any talented people at UCD?
Hexter’s salary is exactly the same as that of the provosts at the University of Iowa, the University of Kansas, Texas A&M, the University of Arizona, and the University of North Carolina. If that’s a “high end market”, then what isn’t? It’s not that I think that our administrators are heroes who deserve to be paid a high salary, or any particular salary. It would just be disastrous if the Provost’s office at UC Davis were no more than a stepping stone for exactly the same job at the University of Kansas. That’s a stupid way to save money; it’s penny wise and pound foolish. We have to be content with the typical market range for administrators at public research universities.
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/president-and-provost-salary-data/
What shameless sycophants! Chancellor Katehi has certainly succeeded in “putting UC Davis on the map”.