Yesterday’s article in the Chronicle on a proposal at St. Mary’s College to link salaries throughout the college to one another raises many issues that have come before our community in recent years. The rise of executive pay in higher education has been well-documented and the struggles to address income inequality and its threat to American democracy continue to make headlines.
The proposal at St. Mary’s College attempts to address such problems and to ensure that the college be part of a solution to such rising inequality. While there are any number of objections to such a policy, and its fate at St. Mary’s is not certain, would such a policy be a positive step toward addressing many concerns among our community on this issue? While surely a better budget and enrollment picture would certainly help remedy salaries that have languished in recent years, what means can we employ to ensure that any future increases will be realized most justly across our community?