An article on the front page of Sunday's Boston Globe expanded upon a fact first published in the Justice on Sept. 24: University President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz received more than $600,000 in compensation from Brandeis during the 2011 calendar year.

This board believes such a large salary, while in line with those of other recently retired presidents at peer institutions, is excessive and representative of a critical problem in higher education.

In 2011, Reinharz was second only to University President Frederick Lawrence in a ranking of the University's highest paid employees. We do not deny that Reinharz has had, and continues to have, a tremendous impact on Brandeis through his prolific fundraising record, having raised $1.2 billion during his tenure. However, we question whether it was financially responsible to essentially pay two presidential salaries in 2011, as Reinharz's salary almost matched that of Lawrence. Despite the fact that the decision to compensate Reinharz in this way was made years ago, our concern is especially relevant now. Brandeis is currently attempting to address a $6.5 million deficit through a partial issuing of savings in student services. It also presents a sharp contrast to the collective faculty who, according to a Nov. 12 Justice article, still feel like they have to fight with the Board of Trustees to ensure that they are not underpaid.

We believe that Reinharz's salary is a symptom of a major spending problem in higher education.

The "golden parachute" phenomenon, in which past presidents or other administrators are given lucrative agreements after their time serving their positions, is representative of growing costs at colleges and universities in the United States and is an additional sign of a troubling systemic problem.

According to a University response to the article, Reinharz's president emeritus compensation was "just slightly above the median amount paid to retired presidents at peer institutions." We believe that following a precedent set by a broken system is not a satisfactory reason for maintaining such a problematic practice. Brandeis should be a leader when it comes to controlling extravagant administrative salaries-not performing slightly below average.

However, we do not absolve Reinharz of responsibility. His comments representing Brandeis in the Globe article, such as when he said, "I am compensated according to my accomplishments. It's the way America usually works," were condescending and indifferent. Furthermore, Reinharz' willingness to increase his own financial gain at the expense of the University's growing financial burden does not paint a sympathetic picture of him.

While it would have been prudent for Reinharz to accept a more modest salary in 2011, we are glad that his salary is in fact on track to decrease. He is contractually in line to continue earning money as president emeritus until June 2014: he earned $287,500 in 2012 and 2013, and will earn $143,750 for 2014, after which he will annually be paid $180,000 as a half-time professor.

We urge Brandeis to take on a position of leadership when it comes to controlling the ballooning administrative salaries that already take quite a toll on the pervasive financial issues in higher education.
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