Danny Mayer: Corporate creep in UK CEO search

Corporate creep in UK CEO search
By Danny Mayer
North of Center

“Organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.”
—Matt Taibbi

Meeting 1

On Monday October 25, Bill Shelton, whom the Lexington Herald-Leader described as a “former Michigan educator who is now at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges,” informed the University of Kentucky Board of Regents that they should be prepared to pay more for their next president. Less than two months earlier, as a retirement gift to outgoing UK CEO/President Lee Todd, the board had increased his presidential salary at the university nearly $200,000, to an annual salary of $511,000. The regents even backdated payments one year.
“You can look for seven plus at this level,” the paper reported Shelton saying. “We now have presidents hitting close to $1 million.” According to Britt Brockman, the Board hadn’t “even broached the subject of compensation” yet.

Meeting 2

Two weeks later, the Saturday November 13 Herald-Leader reported that Greenwood/Asher would be awarded the contract for conducting the search for UK’s next CEO/President. Greenwood/Asher had been hired by UK a decade earlier for the last presidential search, and they had recommended the business man Lee Todd. Greenwood/Asher are described in pitch perfect corporate speak by the Herald Leader thusly: “Greenwood/Asher has been involved in more than 1,000 successful executive searches, according to UK.” Who doesn’t love successful searches? They’re so vaguely satisfying.

At the Board Meeting, the Trustees created a rough draft list of desired qualities for the job advertisement. “[A] record of outstanding scholarly experience and achievement in education,” “superior leadership skills in management,” a “commitment to a diverse faculty and student body,” and “a commitment to the critical role of public, land-grant universities in advancement of Kentucky, the nation and the world” appeared on the list. Also mentioned: to “articulate the university’s mission and goals” and to “communicate effectively” with diverse groups. Todd insider Everette McCorvey called for leadership skills to be given preference. There was no mention of staff, of local labor forces or even of a place called Lexington, existing as it does somewhere beneath (but in) the state.

It’s at this meeting that the paper records the first public mention of confidentiality. The search committee had gone behind closed doors and chosen search firm Greenwood/Asher from among an unspecified number of search firms. We do know that it took the Board less than one hour to choose the search firm that would conduct the search for the next CEO/President of the University of Kentucky.

Also, the Leader reported, no decision had been made as of yet regarding the “possibility of holding forums around Kentucky to seek citizen input.”

To Read the Rest of the Essay

Kentucky New Power: Youth debate the real issues in the US Senate race (University of Kentucky: Oct 21st)

(Extra Credit Opportunity for students in all my classes)

This week is the "Kentucky New Power: Youth debate the real issues in the US Senate race" event.

Issues that will be talked about at the forum include education, healthcare, clean energy, MTR, global warming, cap and trade, jobs, and more. As you talk to young people, let them know that this will be participatory and there will be lots of time for dialogue and discussion, and encourage them to bring their own stories and connections to this issues and speak up.

It is going to be this Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Room 102 of the White Hall Classroom Building at the University of Kentucky (140 Patterson Drive, Lexington). Free parking is available in Lot E-C7 on campus (off of Scott St., where Limestone and Upper meet). There will be refreshments available after the event.

Thanks all!

If you are going to attend please contact Carissa at 859 986 1277

Joe Peek: I Guess You Can Take It with You After All -- On the University of Kentucky Trustees Great Giveaway to Outgoing President Lee Todd

Note to readers: Joe is unable to email faculty at this time. He attended his first official (ro)BOT meeting last week and has since been huddled in the corner in the fetal (near-fatal) position. He has been diagnosed as suffering from PTSD (Preposterous Trustee Statements and Delusions). Consequently, I have taken over as communications officer.

Sincerely (sort of),
Moe
(Joe’s evil twin)


I Guess You Can Take It with You After All

It’s said the quitters never prosper. Wrong again! At the recent (ro)BOT meeting, the trustees voted 17-2 in favor of a salary “reclassification” for outgoing UK President Todd. (The lone dissenters were me and Sheila Brothers, the staff trustee.) Even though I pointed out (more than once) that this reclassification had real implications for the UK budget, it had no impact on the “discussion.” For the record: Base salary, but not bonus, carries with it a 15% retirement contribution by UK, and the change is retroactive to this past year as well. (I know, only the chosen few at the top get UK to make their 5% contribution for them.) Second, President Todd’s retention incentive bonus that will be paid on his last day at UK is equal to his base, not total, compensation. So the cost to UK is at least several hundred thousand dollars. And, silly me, I thought UK was in a budget crisis and could not afford raises at this time. The fact that some of Todd’s “reclassification” was done in arrears is at least consistent with the way UK has been treating faculty and staff (who have been getting it in arrears for a long time).

The good news is that faculty and staff had a say in President Todd’s evaluation. Specifically, our 2000+ faculty had the opportunity to collectively provide a grand total of 1/22 of the input, the same as any one of the 20 individual trustees (and similarly for the staff).

But, just so you know, I am not going to just sit here quietly and take it. Actually, I would take it if it were offered, but, in any case, at the next (ro)BOT meeting, I am going to propose a motion that I receive a substantial raise because that will make it easier to hire my replacement when I resign or retire.

UK 63 Florida 17!

Congratulations to Joker Phillips for finally breaking 20+ years of domination by UF on the football field! Wait a minute, those numbers look familiar; and the Florida game isn’t until this weekend. I get it now: these are the USN&WR rankings for Public Universities. But I guess it is still the same story, continuous academic domination by Florida. . .and Georgia. . .and Alabama. . .and, God help us all, even Auburn.

“Who are you going to believe, me or your own two eyes?”

Is President Todd channeling the Marx Brothers? He has made it clear that he views the USN&WR rankings as being inappropriate for UK. Yet when the Martin School of Public Policy and the College of Law were named in USN&WR’s America’s Best Graduate Schools a few years ago, President Todd was quoted in a press release as saying: “To have these programs listed by U.S. News is certainly an honor, and it comes at a time when we, as a university, have been actively striving for excellence. It shows that we are doing our part.”

Feeling a little dazed and disoriented by President Todd’s statements, I headed over to the hospital to see about getting my meds adjusted, but I ran smack into the humongous banners on UK Hospital buildings touting our USN&WR rankings in America’s Best Hospitals. So I am very confused about the value of the USN&WR rankings, but guess I’m not alone.

President Todd did admit in his State of the University speech that we could do better in the rankings. The Herald-Leader reported that President Todd said “the school could recruit larger numbers of students with high ACT scores from states such as California and Texas and refuse to serve Kentucky students who score lower on the ACT, but that is not UK's mission.” I have always been cursed with a blinding sense of the obvious, so what I am missing here? Can somebody explain to me how accepting high ACT students paying out-of-state tuition hinders us in our unfunded (and probably hopeless) pursuit of Top 20 status? We desperately need revenue, and out-of-state students pay substantially higher tuition. And we have been trying to grow the size and quality of our student body at UK, so wouldn’t additional high ACT students contribute to that mission?
In another puzzling news item, the Courier-Journal reported that following his speech, President Todd said that “he was aware some people were unhappy, but that he has not personally received any feedback from faculty or staff.” I guess he has been too busy to get around to reading my email inbox.


Better Times Ahead?

The NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee just announced the end of the recession. I wonder if they have any idea about when our depression will end? While the war on student attrition is going well, so is the war of faculty attrition. But keep in mind that it could be worse. You could be a student. Yes, they do get annual raises. . . in tuition expense. As for me, I have been offered a golden parachute; well, not exactly golden, but it did contain a lot of metal (perhaps because I am a faculty lead-er?). But I told them that when I was ready to jump I would like to pack my own chute. And they said “Fine, go pack yourself.”


Joe Peek
Professor of Finance
Gatton Endowed Chair in International Banking and Financial Economics
School of Management

On University of Kentucky President Lee Todd's Retroactive Raise

Kentucky Historical Society to Show “Stranger with a Camera,” Host Filmmaker Elizabeth Barret (April 27)

KHS to Show “Stranger with a Camera,” Host Filmmaker Elizabeth Barret
Date : Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Issued By : Kentucky Historical Society
Summary : The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) film series will show "Stranger with a Camera" at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort. Elizabeth Barret, the director of the documentary, will be in attendance at the showing.



Here is an earlier post I wrote about this documentary

Stranger With a Camera
Directed by Elizabeth Barret
Appalshop Films, 2000.

Highly recommended for its narrative structure and its meditation on media representation through the highly charged murder of a documentary filmmaker while he was filming in Appalachia. Barret, a native of the Appalachia region of Eastern Kentucky, self-reflectively attempts to represent what led up to the murder while at the same time understanding the impossibility of fully understanding these events. This is a great example of autoethnography in the Appalshop community-based filmmaking tradition. It led this reviewer to ponder what is the responsibility of the media (and researchers, governments, NGos, etc...) in representing cultures/communities.

Unfortunately it isn't available online or in most video stores, so trek on over to your nearby university or public library and see if they have a copy (if not request that they get one--most libraries are actually very cool about acquiring materials for patrons).

ITVS Site for the Documentary

PBS Site for the Documentary and Further Resources

NPR Interview with Elizabeth Barret

Austin Chronicle Review/Interview

The Media Interrogated in Stranger With a Camera

Appalshop site for the Documentary

Appalshop Films

Comparison of Blair Witch and Stranger with a Camera? (very good analysis)

Califronia Newsreel Review

INTERPRETING FILM: MEANING AND REPRESENTATION, CULTURE AND POLITICS, THE TRUMAN SHOW AND STRANGER WITH A CAMERA

Disclosure: Family, Sex, Law (Call For Art: Deadline July 1, 2010)

Disclosure: CFP -- Family, Sex, and Law (7/1/10)

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: July 1st, 2010

The editorial collective of disClosure seeks submissions that explore FAMILY, SEX, AND Law as they are understood in a variety of areas and disciplines. Possible topics might include:


*Divorce

*Sex and Love Work

*Sex & Affect(ion)

*Law & Marriage

*The Business of Marriage

*Queering Family

*Family Medicine/The

*Medicalized Family

*Sexuality and Empire

*Family, Sex, and Migration

*Rethinking Childhood/

*Old Age

*Family and Trauma

*The Post-Nuclear Family

*Sex and Surveillance

*Family Secrets

*Trafficking Women

*Marriage/Sex/Family in Popular Culture

disClosure is a blind refereed journal produced in conjunction with the Committee on Social Theory at the University of Kentucky. We welcome submissions from all theoretical perspectives and genres (scholarly articles, interviews, reviews, short fiction, poetry, artwork) and from authors and artists (academically affiliated or not) concerned with social theory.


SUBMISSION INFORMATION:

Scholarly Articles, Essays, Poetry, and Fiction: Please submit electronically in Word format to disclosurejournal@gmail.com. Submissions should be double-spaced with no more than 10,000 words. Manuscripts, notes, and bibliographies should follow Chicago format, where applicable.

Book Reviews: Please submit electronically in Word format to disclosurejournal@gmail.com. These should be approximately 1,000 words and should review works published no earlier than 2007.

Art and other graphic materials: Artists should submit digital or camera-ready material. Electronic submissions should be accompanied by a hard copy. Art cannot be returned, so do not send originals. Do not submit material that has been half-toned for publication (e.g., pictures in books or catalogues). All art will be published in B&W, so please submit accordingly.

Authors are responsible for securing copyright and fair-use notices and must submit them prior to disClosure publication. All material accepted by disClosure for publication becomes property of the journal. disClosure is not responsible for loss or damage resulting from submission.

Inquiries and Submissions:


Jeffrey Zamostny and Rebecca Lane

disclosurejournal@gmail.com


Art and Other Graphic Materials:

disClosure

C/O Naomi Norasak/Jeffrey Zamostny/Rebecca Lane

1613 Patterson Office Tower

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY 40506-0027