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General Ohio University Discussion/Alumni Events Topic
Topic: Trustees Give McDavis a raise
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Bobcatbob
9/7/2012 8:56 AM
There's a very nice article in The Dispatch this morning about Dr. McD and the trustees evaluation of him.  Very revealing about his role at OU.

Since the Dispatch has taken away my electronic edition access even though I am a daily subscriber, I'm resisting the urge to try to link it here but if someone has five minutes to link or cut and paste it, it's a good read.
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Alan Swank
9/7/2012 9:58 AM
Bobcatbob wrote:expand_more
There's a very nice article in The Dispatch this morning about Dr. McD and the trustees evaluation of him.  Very revealing about his role at OU.

Since the Dispatch has taken away my electronic edition access even though I am a daily subscriber, I'm resisting the urge to try to link it here but if someone has five minutes to link or cut and paste it, it's a good read.


Here you go:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/07/...
Last Edited: 9/7/2012 9:59:09 AM by Alan Swank
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cincybobcat99
9/7/2012 10:26 AM
Bobcatbob wrote:expand_more
There's a very nice article in The Dispatch this morning about Dr. McD and the trustees evaluation of him.  Very revealing about his role at OU.

Since the Dispatch has taken away my electronic edition access even though I am a daily subscriber, I'm resisting the urge to try to link it here but if someone has five minutes to link or cut and paste it, it's a good read.


Big win for Ohio Sports, Dr. McD has always been a be supporter of Ohio Athletics.
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Alan Swank
9/7/2012 10:14 PM
And a slap in the face for academics who got a measly 1 to 2% raise.
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bobcat28
9/9/2012 10:11 AM
wow he's 63? I thought he was younger than that.
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Kinggeorge4
9/10/2012 8:25 AM
Most received a 2.5%.
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JSF
9/10/2012 6:50 PM
The problem is not that McDavis got a raise as much as how much university presidents are making in general. It's not a good trend.
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Ohio69
9/10/2012 7:28 PM
JSF wrote:expand_more
The problem is not that McDavis got a raise as much as how much university presidents are making in general. It's not a good trend.



Uh oh, JSF must be getting close to applying for a tenure track position somewhere....


Isn't this just capitalism or economics at work?


Last Edited: 9/10/2012 7:30:02 PM by Ohio69
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JSF
9/10/2012 9:28 PM
You're right, it's economics at work. That doesn't mean it's a good thing. Administrators have convinced university boards they are worth more and more money. And I don't hold that against them. It's America. If they can get it, they can get it. But in general, I find a wide salary disparity between administration and faculty to be a bad thing. It's hard to see eye-to-eye when someone is making 2-5x less than you are. And it certainly doesn't look good when we're not staying competitive with instructor salaries.
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OhioCatFan
9/10/2012 10:42 PM
President Baker wrote an article on this very subject in about 1958.  It was in some business journal.  I think it may have been the Harvard Business Review.  He was not talking specifically about college presidents, as I recall, but about the issue of top leadership being rewarded at too high a rate compared to others down the food chain in corporate America. The problem in colleges and universities is just a reflection of this trend which has been going on in the U.S. for a number years.  The problem is much easier to quantify than to figure out a solution to.  All I know for sure is that the solution is not some sort of managed economy involving government set limits on salaries based on a bureaucratic assessment of the value of one occupation versus another.  That's been tried once in our lifetimes and that system failed. 
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Ohio69
9/11/2012 9:22 AM
Well, it sounds like faculty senate decided to not complain too bitterly (which would likely just be dismissed as usual) and try to use it to their advantage and request similar % raises.  Smarter way to go I think. 

I'm sure we'll see some scathing letters to the local media outlets though.
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bobcat695
9/11/2012 11:17 AM

Ohio University has over 3,000 employees and over 25,000 students (grad, undergrad, branch).  McDavis is the CEO of a huge organization and has had a hand in raising $407,000,000 for the OU Foundation.  His compensation is below average for university presidents, and WAY below a comparable job in business or industry.  I'm still amazed that everyone thinks high level compensation is too high.  Does anyone bitch about their dentist making $400,000 or their cardiologist making $750,000?  I grow weary of listening to people complain about how much someone makes out of pure jealousy. 

If I thought Dr. Ping (or any other administrator) was making too much when I was attending Ohio, I would have transferred.  I did not pick my institution of higher learning based on which president was making the least amount of money. 

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Alan Swank
9/11/2012 7:10 PM
bobcat695 wrote:expand_more

Ohio University has over 3,000 employees and over 25,000 students (grad, undergrad, branch).  McDavis is the CEO of a huge organization and has had a hand in raising $407,000,000 for the OU Foundation.  His compensation is below average for university presidents, and WAY below a comparable job in business or industry.  I'm still amazed that everyone thinks high level compensation is too high.  Does anyone bitch about their dentist making $400,000 or their cardiologist making $750,000?  I grow weary of listening to people complain about how much someone makes out of pure jealousy. 

If I thought Dr. Ping (or any other administrator) was making too much when I was attending Ohio, I would have transferred.  I did not pick my institution of higher learning based on which president was making the least amount of money. 



You've been on a roll lately but this last paragraph doesn't make much sense.  Were you really thinking about Ping's salary while doing beer bongs on Palmer Street?  Just kidding of course.

Here's an interesting quote from an article about whole foods, a company that many admire.

One company actually receives positive press for its executive compensation. Media reports frequently tout Whole Foods' pay policy, which caps the chief executive's salary and bonus at 14 times the average worker's pay. The Wall Street Journal, Slate.com, Harvard Business Review andBusinessWeek have all mentioned the pay cap, generally in favorable terms.

According to this, McDavis' salary at $415,000 is 14 times an average salary at OU of $29,642.  I think the average here across the 3000 employees that you cite is much higher than that.

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bobcat695
9/11/2012 9:19 PM
My point exactly. He is underpaid. BTW, if you are going to use Whole Foods as an example, don't forget to consider most of the executives hold a large number of shares of their company stock. They may make a smaller salary, but their income will still be more than enough from their dividends. Since they are responsible for the bottom line, taking less in earned income also helps their dividend income. It is good business, plus they get rewarded for it. Three of their Directors sold $43,000,000 of company stock EACH just last month. That's a pretty good month. McDavis gets 1% of that.
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JSF
9/11/2012 11:05 PM
I had no idea I was jealous of McDavis, cardiologists, and dentists. Thanks for letting me know that. Guess that kind of negates that whole thing where I said I don't hold his salary against him, huh?
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bobcat695
9/12/2012 8:56 AM
So what is the proper ratio JSF?  The average full faculty member makes around $100,000 and works a lot less than the president in a low stress, low risk job.  McDavis is the President of a large university.  He is responsible for fundraising $450M towards our current campaign, as well as managing the university in a time of decreased state funding.  He is worth every penny of what he is being paid, and then some.   
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DelBobcat
9/19/2012 5:53 PM
bobcat695 wrote:expand_more

Ohio University has over 3,000 employees and over 25,000 students (grad, undergrad, branch).  McDavis is the CEO of a huge organization and has had a hand in raising $407,000,000 for the OU Foundation.  His compensation is below average for university presidents, and WAY below a comparable job in business or industry.  I'm still amazed that everyone thinks high level compensation is too high.  Does anyone bitch about their dentist making $400,000 or their cardiologist making $750,000?  I grow weary of listening to people complain about how much someone makes out of pure jealousy. 

If I thought Dr. Ping (or any other administrator) was making too much when I was attending Ohio, I would have transferred.  I did not pick my institution of higher learning based on which president was making the least amount of money. 



Agreed. I DO have a problem with Wall Street execs making millions upon millions by screwing the American public, but McDavis' salary is not even comparable to that. If anything he deserves a larger raise for how instrumental he has been in raising money for the university. Not to mention the fact that he and Mrs. McDavis have donated money to the university.

If you want an example of a university president being overpaid here is a better one...

http://www.thelantern.com/campus/ohio-state-reacts-to-gee...>

 

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The Optimist
9/20/2012 3:15 PM
DelBobcat wrote:expand_more

Ohio University has over 3,000 employees and over 25,000 students (grad, undergrad, branch).  McDavis is the CEO of a huge organization and has had a hand in raising $407,000,000 for the OU Foundation.  His compensation is below average for university presidents, and WAY below a comparable job in business or industry.  I'm still amazed that everyone thinks high level compensation is too high.  Does anyone bitch about their dentist making $400,000 or their cardiologist making $750,000?  I grow weary of listening to people complain about how much someone makes out of pure jealousy. 

If I thought Dr. Ping (or any other administrator) was making too much when I was attending Ohio, I would have transferred.  I did not pick my institution of higher learning based on which president was making the least amount of money. 



Agreed. I DO have a problem with Wall Street execs making millions upon millions by screwing the American public, but McDavis' salary is not even comparable to that. If anything he deserves a larger raise for how instrumental he has been in raising money for the university. Not to mention the fact that he and Mrs. McDavis have donated money to the university.

If you want an example of a university president being overpaid here is a better one...

http://www.thelantern.com/campus/ohio-state-reacts-to-gee...>

 


Wall Street Execs have no responsibilities to the American Public.  If they are screwing their shareholders, I would agree they need to be fired.  I really don't have an issue with large pay, but I cannot stand the HUGE compensation packages execs get when they leave (often on unfriendly terms)...
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DelBobcat
9/20/2012 11:39 PM
The Optimist wrote:expand_more

Ohio University has over 3,000 employees and over 25,000 students (grad, undergrad, branch).  McDavis is the CEO of a huge organization and has had a hand in raising $407,000,000 for the OU Foundation.  His compensation is below average for university presidents, and WAY below a comparable job in business or industry.  I'm still amazed that everyone thinks high level compensation is too high.  Does anyone bitch about their dentist making $400,000 or their cardiologist making $750,000?  I grow weary of listening to people complain about how much someone makes out of pure jealousy. 

If I thought Dr. Ping (or any other administrator) was making too much when I was attending Ohio, I would have transferred.  I did not pick my institution of higher learning based on which president was making the least amount of money. 



Agreed. I DO have a problem with Wall Street execs making millions upon millions by screwing the American public, but McDavis' salary is not even comparable to that. If anything he deserves a larger raise for how instrumental he has been in raising money for the university. Not to mention the fact that he and Mrs. McDavis have donated money to the university.

If you want an example of a university president being overpaid here is a better one...

http://www.thelantern.com/campus/ohio-state-reacts-to-gee...>

 


Wall Street Execs have no responsibilities to the American Public.  If they are screwing their shareholders, I would agree they need to be fired.  I really don't have an issue with large pay, but I cannot stand the HUGE compensation packages execs get when they leave (often on unfriendly terms)...


Of course the have no responsibility to the American public, that's why they need to be well-regulated. I guess I should clarify that my disdain is not toward the person making the money (who wouldn't accept a huge salary?) but toward a governmental structure that allows them to screw people over while collecting that huge salary.
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Tim Burke
9/21/2012 10:18 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
President Baker wrote an article on this very subject in about 1958.  It was in some business journal.  I think it may have been the Harvard Business Review.  He was not talking specifically about college presidents, as I recall, but about the issue of top leadership being rewarded at too high a rate compared to others down the food chain in corporate America. The problem in colleges and universities is just a reflection of this trend which has been going on in the U.S. for a number years.  The problem is much easier to quantify than to figure out a solution to.  All I know for sure is that the solution is not some sort of managed economy involving government set limits on salaries based on a bureaucratic assessment of the value of one occupation versus another.  That's been tried once in our lifetimes and that system failed. 


If McDavis operated a for-profit corporation of the size of Ohio University, his compensation would be 10-50x what he makes as a university president. 
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Bobcatbob
9/21/2012 1:13 PM
Congress has come up with a very insightful solution to the salary cap question. (I know!  It's crazy to even imagine, isn't it?).

No federal contractor can be reimbursed for an executive salary that's higher then the President's.  Can you argue with that?  I can't.  Name me a tougher job in any company that has ever existed.
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Robert Fox
9/21/2012 2:34 PM
I could argue with that, but I won't on BA.com.
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oucs 1986
9/21/2012 8:48 PM
Tim Burke wrote:expand_more
If McDavis operated a for-profit corporation of the size of Ohio University, his compensation would be 10-50x what he makes as a university president.
What's OUr operating revenue?

-john
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