Should University Presidents Moonlight on Corporate Boards?
The debate started over a specific kind of corporate board: that of a for-profit education company.
Inside Higher Ed reports.
Controversy at UC Davis escalates into wider debate on presidents on corporate boards
Linda P. B. Katehi, chancellor of the University of California at Davis, resigned last week from the corporate board of the DeVry Education Group, which operates DeVry University. The company had just announced that Katehi had joined the board. Katehi left the board amid criticism from consumer groups and legislators, some of whom noted that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is suing DeVry over allegations that the company made false claims about its job placement rates and its graduates’ earnings.
Katehi’s resignation did not end the debate. On Thursday, The Sacramento Bee reported that Katehi had received $420,000 in pay and stock for three years of service on the board of Wiley Inc., which sells textbooks and other education materials. Katehi earns about $425,000 annually from UC Davis, so the funds from Wiley were a significant share of her total income.
Controversy at UC Davis escalates into wider debate on presidents on corporate boards (Inside Higher Ed | News)
Comments
In a word, no. They are being paid far too much to have other responsibilities. Unless you can prove direct benefit to the university of the position, it shouldn’t be an allowable consideration.
That’s only part of the problem. Katehi has presided over a campus rife with anti-Semitic expressions and incidents including swastikas painted on a Jewish frat house. Now this. She needs to go.