At the Dec. 5 faculty meeting, Prof. Sarah Mead (MUS) revealed that the University Budget Committee during the 2009 economic recession was unaware of the Board of Trustees' decision to contract President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz a salary of $1.5 million in 2009, $627,000 in 2011 and $300,000 each year from 2012 and 2014. According to University administrators, Reinharz's post-presidency salary has declined from its high in 2011. Reinharz's total compensation is approximately $300,000 each year from 2012 through 2014. In 2014, Reinharz will be compensated as president emeritus until June at the same rate as 2012 and 2013, with a total compensation that year of about $160,000. After June 2014, Reinharz's annual salary will be $180,000 as a half-time professor.

"I am hurt that I spent all those years on the UBC, which I am still a member of, and didn't know anything about this. During a time we were in dire financial straits ... we didn't know this was happening," Mead said.

Mead's comments were made during the question-and-answer section of the meeting during which faculty were encouraged to respond to the issue of executive compensation. Other faculty members responded similarly to the article in the Boston Globe that focused on the salary packages of outgoing university presidents, concentrating on Reinharz's compensation.

"I'm mortified, as I was in the fall of 2008," said Prof. Jane Kamensky (HIST). "If I were [Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement] Nancy Winship, I would be waking up in a cold sweat every two hours all night long. I don't want to move backwards, but this is Groundhog's Day."

In response to the information about Reinharz's salary, which went viral after its publication in the Globe, Faculty Senate Chair Prof. Eric Chasalow (MUS) revealed the contents of a letter drafted by the Senate that was presented to the Board of Trustees on Monday. The letter details the Senate's three principal concerns about how executive compensation packages are created and determined: transparency, equity and oversight.

According to Chasalow, transparency refers to the timeliness and completeness of the information used to create the packages for executives and when that information should be made public. Equity relates to the processes that determine the fairness, structure and proportion of the packages in relation to the pay of the other employees of the University.

Lastly, the letter includes a section asking for more oversight of the Board of Trustees and specifically the Personnel, Compensation and Ethics Committee that is in charge of executive compensation. Chasalow said in the past this committee has made decisions without a vote or providing information to the entire Board. Chasalow went on to say that the Chair of the Board of Trustees Perry Traquina '78 believes this is an issue that should be addressed.

Moreover, in a related matter, Chasalow revealed the Senate has been discussing the possibility of recommending that faculty representatives to the Board of Trustees become voting members. Board members have a fiduciary responsibility to the University and also have the final authority in nearly all matters relating to the functioning of University.

Director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life Daniel Terris also spoke at the meeting and gave a brief synopsis of his recent trip to Al-Quds University along with Profs. Susan Lanser (ENG) and Daniel Kryder (POL). Terris also briefly mentioned the report that he, Lanser and Kryder had been commissioned to compile by Provost Steve Goldstein '78 and University President Frederick Lawrence. Although Terris was hesitant to comment until the community had a chance to read the report on Monday, Dec. 9, he abstractly outlined the contents of the report, which he said would address Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh's background, information about the rally and Al-Quds University response to the rally. Further, the report will speak to the suspension of the University's relationship with Al-Quds University's and Nusseibeh's suspension from the advisory board of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public life. The report will end with conclusions and recommendations as the University continues to evaluate its relationship with Al-Quds.

The meeting also included a memorial tribute to Professor Emeritus Harold Shapero (MUS), who recently passed away at the age of 95. Shapero was among the original faculty in the Music department and was a renowned neo-classical composer whose work was played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1947.

In addition, Goldstein also announced that two History professors have been named endowed chairs: Prof. David Engerman has been appointed as the Ottilie Springer Professor of History and Prof. Michael Willrich the Leff Families Professor of History.