Hego is looking for a pay rise

Stargal

Despite currently earning €205,000 per year, John Hegarty is looking for a pay rise of €135,000 because of his "mental horse-power", "emotional intelligence" and my own personal favourite, "street smart problem-solving skills". This would take his yearly salary up to €340,000.

He made the application for the pay rise along with the heads of the six other universities in the country.

Oddly enough, they make no mention of the chronic and severe underfunding that has led to massive cuts across the board in most of the universities.

Instead, they focus on how a CEO of a company the size of one of the universities would be earning a lot more than they are now.

If the role of Provost had changed massively in the last few years and led to a hugely increased workload, then I could possibly, grudgingly accept this. However it hasn't. The Provost does exactly what every Provost before him has done - schmooze potential donors for money, chair meetings, attend social events, allow the people directly under him to run things and enjoy living in No. 1 Grafton Street. Oh, and make the most of the services of his personal butler too.

Universities aren't companies, and Hegarty and his pals at the other ones should stop trying to treat them as if they are.

Slight aside: DCU is the only university I could see actually bringing in someone from the private sector to be the next president. Although by the way things are going, Trinity may not be too far behind.

Taken from the Irish Independent, Friday Jan 5th

Because we're worth it: Profs want €135,000 rise for 'mental horse-power'

THE country's seven university presidents are seeking a pay rise of up to €135,000 each.

They believe the 55pc pay rise would reward their unique "mental horse power", "emotional intelligence" and "street smart, problem-solving skills".

Details of their major pay claim are revealed in a confidential submission to the Review Body for Higher Remuneration in the Public Service.

The presidents, who are currently paid between €186,000 and €205,000, want a salary of at least €320,000 a year.

They say their role has moved from that of being an educator. "It is now more akin to that of the corporate chief executive who must develop and drive strategically and position their businesses to grow and be ethnically and effectively managed and led."

The "reward philosophy" for the post must be "robust" enough to continue to attract candidates of the calibre required, the submission says.

The Irish Independent has seen a copy of the university chiefs' 25-page joint claim, which was submitted some months ago by the Irish Universities Association. It was prepared with the assistance of an outside HR consultant.

The document is laced with management speak such as "win-win partnerships", "extending people's line of sight", "step-change" and "rewarding individual's on-going value" with base pay, variable pay or bonus pay.

It lists many arguments for addressing the "slippage" that has occurred in the presidents' salaries in comparison with the private sector and university presidents abroad.

There is no reference in the document to the fact that three of the seven university heads live on campus - in UCD, Trinity and DCU. Both the TCD Provost Dr John Hegarty and UCD President are by statute to live on the college grounds.

Already the three top paid university presidents - at TCD, UCD and UCC - earn more than government ministers who get €199,000. If their claim is conceded it would put their salaries ahead of that of the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern who is currently earning €252,000.

Secretary generals of government departments and Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy earn a salary of €192,000 since last June and there was an outcry some months ago when it emerged that five senior Health Service Executive advisors are earning up to €202,000 each for just 135 days work a year.

The seven heads earn almost twice as much as a TD whose salary starts at €90,770 but who gets more based on the length of service.

They are also far ahead of their own academic staff. The best paid professor in UCD earns €136,299 at the top of the scale.

As well as pressing for a substantial pay rise, the association eventually wants individual governing bodies to set up remuneration committees to decide on the reward for each university head.

"This opportunity to better align the pay of University Heads and send a powerful message that reward demands delivery and performance is critical to the success of Government policy in the third and fourth level sectors.

"It is also critical to recognise that the leadership positions in this sector are unique within the Irish public sector in that applicants for the posts will have international competition for competitively renumerated positions and performance of their institution and consequently their leadership is benchmarked internationally," it added.

Agent Smith

you wernt complaining when he gave you your award....

+135,000 for House 1, -135,000 divided amongst the rest of the college.... to be honest, Hego charges Trinity enough through getting his butler to bring over his dinner every day from the 1592. Perhaps there's a problem between what Provost means in the Irish sense and what is means in the American sense (i.e. second in command)?

Stargal

agent smith wrote:

you wernt complaining when he gave you your award....

That's one of the most useless responses I've ever seen on boards. No, I didn't complain to him about his plans for a future salary hike when he presented me with an award almost two years ago. Mea culpa.

Myth wrote:

+135,000 for House 1, -135,000 divided amongst the rest of the college

But to play devil's advocate for a moment, €135,000 could make a massive difference to one of the smaller schools/departments struggling to survive under ARAM.

Thirdfox

How's ARAM coming along? And the plans to alter the schols? (Been away from college so don't know what's happening in Ireland).

AMHRASACH

. . in a competition for the most venal, look no further . .

europerson

I thought Emma O'Kelly's report on this on RTÉ News last night was hilarious. She completely slagged the "heads" off for their use of buzzwords.

Edwardius

Mental horsepower? I think his previous job required more mental effort than the current one. Besides how much "street smart problem solving" ability is required to kiss ass and have your picture taken? on another note, where do retired provosts go?

BessBoy

stargal wrote:

Oddly enough, they make no mention of the chronic and severe underfunding that has led to massive cuts across the board in most of the universities.

Who they? The IUA? The journalsiths?

Dont you mean "oddly enough, to make a headline and to trivialise an issue, our journalists picked and chose from bits and pieces of the claim. We for sure couldnt be bothered to put the full case here, because it would cut into the horoscopes."

I rather doubt that in a 25 page pay claim the IUA heads forgot to note that due to the scandelous underfunding of the area they are forced to act as professional menicants.

Andrew 83

BessBoy wrote:

I rather doubt that in a 25 page pay claim the IUA heads forgot to note that due to the scandelous underfunding of the area they are forced to act as professional menicants.

I also rather doubt that their 25 page claim contains any acceptable reason which would justify a salary of 320,000 euro, nor of their existing salary for that matter.

Edwardius

Still though, I'm not sure how we're to decide how much they "deserve" to be paid and seeing as the combined requirements and responsibilities of such a job aren't exactly commonplace in other lines of work I think it's an area in which very few people are sufficiently informed to comment. Especially if most of us haven't read the report.

BessBoy

Andrew 83 wrote:

I also rather doubt that their 25 page claim contains any acceptable reason which would justify a salary of 320,000 euro, nor of their existing salary for that matter.

Your choice to think that, fair enough. But, in this case lets defer to ignorance - nobody here has seen the report, and if you believe journalsiths report the truth, thats fine too....
I kinda think that 300k aint too bad for a CEO of a large corporation, which is what TCD/UCD/insert here is nowadays, decry that if you wish but its a fact.

Pet

That's one of the most useless responses I've ever seen on boards. No, I didn't complain to him about his plans for a future salary hike when he presented me with an award almost two years ago. Mea culpa.

Lol, sliiiice!

Crash

you know, on the thing about it being the most useless post, I'd consider AgentSmith has 6769 other prime contenders, to be honest.

Nietzschean

BessBoy wrote:

Your choice to think that, fair enough. But, in this case lets defer to ignorance - nobody here has seen the report, and if you believe journalsiths report the truth, thats fine too....
I kinda think that 300k aint too bad for a CEO of a large corporation, which is what TCD/UCD/insert here is nowadays, decry that if you wish but its a fact.

Em not really, there is far more risk involved in being the CEO of a large corporation, job/litigation and so on...

The whole sham of are we doing ARAM, arn't we, lark would get any CEO of a company fired. And the benefit in kind value of having the gaff he does should be removed from his salary, at rent rates for that street his rent would be what 100k ? more?

Crash

Job security with very few outgoings - I'd do provost tbh.

Stargal

Nietzschean wrote:

Em not really, there is far more risk involved in being the CEO of a large corporation, job/litigation and so on...

The whole sham of are we doing ARAM, aren't we, lark would get any CEO of a company fired.

QFT. If Hego wants to pretend like this is the private sector then he should be subject to the same checks and balances that any other CEO would be - performance-related pay, risk of the position being terminated if performance is unsatisfactory and accountability, among other things.

BessBoy wrote:

But, in this case lets defer to ignorance - nobody here has seen the report, and if you believe journalsiths report the truth, thats fine too....

I'm not sure about journalsiths, but in cases like this where the factual contents of a report are well, reported on, yes, I do believe that journalists report the truth. What part of the article are you actually questioning? A submission was put forward to the Review Body for Higher Remuneration in the Public Service. In it, the boys are looking for more money. They've justified it using management-speak. Seems remarkable straightforward to me - however it sounds like you have some intriguing conspiracy theory just waiting to be put forward so do fill us in.

BessBoy wrote:

I kinda think that 300k aint too bad for a CEO of a large corporation, which is what TCD/UCD/insert here is nowadays, decry that if you wish but its a fact.

No darling, it's not a fact.

No matter how much Hego, his mates and BessBoy want to stick their fingers in their ears, bang their feet on the ground and pretend like it isn't happening, the fact is that this isn't the private sector and Trinity isn't a large corporation. In the future, this might change, but right now Trinity is a university and one that is suffering under half-assed management strategies that focus on money-making rather than - god forbid - research, learning and the pursuit of knowledge.

Troglodyte

&#231 wrote: »

Job security with very few outgoings - I'd do provost tbh.

The strategic placement of the word "the" would liven up that post no end.

ApeXaviour

stargal wrote:

No darling, it's not a fact.

No matter how much Hego, his mates and BessBoy want to stick their fingers in their ears, bang their feet on the ground and pretend like it isn't happening, the fact is that this isn't the private sector and Trinity isn't a large corporation. In the future, this might change, but right now Trinity is a university and one that is suffering under half-assed management strategies that focus on money-making rather than - god forbid - research, learning and the pursuit of knowledge.

Thank you... for wording that so much better than I could

BessBoy

Nietzschean wrote:

And the benefit in kind value of having the gaff he does should be removed from his salary, at rent rates for that street his rent would be what 100k ? more?

It is, through BIK taxation, at a fair market value rent imputation.

Agent Smith

i'm sorry, it was late.... and i was tired

no disrespect intended

Stargal

Ok. Thanks.

nikolaitr

This is crazy. Just think about what he already recieves


He already earns about 7 times the national average industrial wage.
He gets free rent is a property that is probably worth about 100,000 in rent a year
Presumably he recieves travel and other expenses including food and entertainment.
This along would probably add up to 300,000 in costs for the college.


Asking for a 50% increase in his salary is just greedy when the college has fundng problems and needs to improve its placings on the world stage.


Some say that 100,00 in the whole scheme of things is nothing but by my calculations it would be enough to keep the libraries in trinity open to full hours on the weekends. It is joke that trinty is a National Library yet it is not open fully on the weekends when libraries in UCD and RCSI are.

prothalamium

Kind of odd the way Hegarty's looking for a pay rise, yet a truly amazing lecturer from the film department has just had to leave re: lack of funds.

That's "street smart problem solving", yep.

Who?!

prothalamium

Myth wrote:

Who?!

I don't feel comfortable naming names. The victim of the situation hasn't expressed any desire to publicize this. I like my lecturers and don't really want to embarrass anybody who doesn't deserve to be.

Something should be done about this, though. I'm just not sure how to go about it.

From the Irish Times.

UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS' PAY

*

Madam, - Now that the presidents of Irish Universities wish to be considered as CEOs of business enterprises and paid accordingly, one presumes that:

1.Academic councils will henceforth become boards of directors that are remunerated accordingly and are empowered to dismiss the CEOs if they do not make sufficient profit for the shareholders (i.e. the students and staff).

2.Professors and heads of department will become senior managers and therefore, like the presidents, can expect to receive large salary increases.

3.Lecturers will become managers, and also expect to be paid accordingly.

In these changing times, clearly scholarship, basic research and teaching are unprofitable. How Cardinal Newman must be turning in his grave! - Yours, etc,

BRIAN E. LEONARD, Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology, NUI Galway.

Stargal

Good letter.

Andrew 83

Myth wrote:

1.Academic councils will henceforth become boards of directors that are remunerated accordingly and are empowered to dismiss the CEOs if they do not make sufficient profit for the shareholders (i.e. the students and staff).

Maybe I should apply for backdated pay for my year on academic council?

On a serious note that's a very good letter.

DrIndy

€135,000!

Hah!

He's got plenty of perks already - it should be given as an incentive to head hunt a replacement rather than as a gift to someone who cannot be removed for a ten year term.

The man needs a pineapple or two extracted from his ass.

John

I'll do it for half the current wage and put the education first.

Troglodyte

I'd do it for twice the current wage and sit on my arsé.

Stargal

According to today's Indo, professors are starting to follow Hego's lead...

College professors seeking massive pay hike
UNIVERSITY professors have become the latest academics to seek massive pay hikes.

In the wake of the university presidents' bid for salary rises of up to €135,000, "leading edge" professors have claimed that they, too, deserve substantial extra pay.

The Irish Universities Association (IUA) says there is an international "war for talent" and mechanisms should be put in place to "meet the challenges of attracting and retaining world-class professors".

There are 425 professors at Irish universities, earning up to €140,000 a year at the top of the pay scale. However, about 5pc of them have their salaries "topped up" under an agreement which allows the universities to depart from normal pay rates.

Some high-fliers have secured very favourable deals under this so-called Departures Framework.

Now the IUA wants this framework broadened. It says there is need for a reward system that is capable of giving professors a competitive salary and recognises the high cost of living and of property prices in Ireland.

In a confidential submission to the Review Body for Higher Remuneration in the Public Service, the IUA says that failure to address the issue of reward places the Government's policy for universities and the seven universities' "deliverables" at risk. "The consequences of failure to deliver a knowledge society through science, technology, social sciences and the humanities, and innovation, cannot be contemplated," it says.

The Departures Framework was intended to apply to a small number of exceptional academic staff.

The IUA says it should be extended to "principal investigators" who will be appointed in the next three to five years as part of the Government's new science strategy for fourth-level education. Many of them will be professors.

"Professors are a key leadership grade within the universities and they must be the driving force of the reform and research agenda required by Government," the IUA submission says.

The submission suggests increased workloads have extended professors' working hours. They spend a significant among of time preparing lectures and often correct exam papers on weekends, it says. "It is well recognised that working in a research and development intensive environment means an extended working week. A significant part of this is the supervision of PhD students and the management of a team." Some of this, the submission adds, involves working over the summer.

Wow. Working over the summer. That must be tough.

Tacitha

The demand by university presidents for a €300,000 salary is not outlandish. We must reward those who are committed to change, relevance and the pursuit of excellence. Otherwise, Ireland will fail to sustain the building of the great universities it needs, argues Ed Walsh

Competition in the knowledge age has become a race for talent: universities have moved to the apex of the competitive system in developed countries. World-class universities give a special competitive edge: they strongly influence foreign direct investment and wealth creation. As a result, governments globally are pressing to ensure that their universities are vibrant and competitive.

Most European governments are agitated by the fact that their universities fare so badly in new international rankings. Prior to the second World War, the world's best universities were in Europe. Now the US wins most of the Nobel prizes in science and European universities make poor showings. Eight of the world's top 10 universities are in the US, and seven of these, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and Columbia, are run as private corporations with the associated no-nonsense policies that nurture excellence and ostracise the second-rate.

In contrast, many European states have in effect nationalised the universities, turned academics into public servants, locked them on salary scales and created bureaucratic formulas that tolerate mediocrity and often fail to reward excellence. Talent has drifted away and many of Europe's once-great universities have been humbled.

Poor rankings in the international polls have highlighted this reality and many European governments are now moving to revitalise their lacklustre universities. Germany is attempting to create nine elite universities and Britain has given university leadership considerable discretion in fostering and recruiting vital talent.

Recently, under the National Development Plan, Ireland has moved in a most determined and creative way to boost the low research standing of its universities and compensate for 80 years of neglect. Research funding has been dramatically increased from miserly millions to generous billions in a way that has caught the imagination of the multinationals and the international research community. Science Foundation Ireland has been established with panache and is proving a remarkable success. Flexibility has been demonstrated in offering the kind of remuneration packages essential to compete internationally in attracting some of the world's great researchers to Ireland. The strategy is already paying off: major multinationals have started to make research investments unprecedented in Ireland. Enterprise that invests in research and intellectual talent puts down deep roots that make flitting eastwards before the next minimum wage increase much less likely.

But our universities are still under the maw of the State, governance structures are inappropriate and cumbersome, the executive is constrained and leadership lacks the financial discretion necessary to weave and duck while pursuing and capturing world talent.

The best of the US, UK and Australian universities have the kind of discretion that permits them to "go for broke" in the pursuit of a person who is vital . . . an academic who is a potential Nobel laureate or a president or vice president with the necessary exceptional abilities. Ireland's development agencies are becoming increasingly aware that Irish universities need similar flexibility and unless a number of our universities make good progress towards the top-100 international rankings Ireland's long-term wealth and job-creation prospects are at some risk.

Moving a university into the top-100 category calls for remarkable commitment at all levels: especially from the president and vice-presidential team.

Courage and management skill is called for in terminating jaded programmes and transferring resources to more relevant ones, facing down entrenched university groups committed to the status quo - and then selectively allocating resources and reward to those who are committed to change, relevance and the pursuit of excellence. Unless the Irish universities are encouraged to do this, and can compete internationally in attracting and retaining the necessary leadership talent, Ireland will fail to sustain the building of the great universities it needs.

The quality of the university executive leadership team is a key determining factor in building a great university. Despite the public image created by gown-clad presidents mumbling Latin at conferring ceremonies the leadership and executive challenge at presidential and vice-presidential level are immense. With annual budgets now measured in fractions of a billion, several thousand staff, overseas programmes, international fundraising and a diverse list of campus companies, few are fit to undertake the multidimensional role of university president. Given the nature of the people involved and the complexity of the structures, the challenge in driving forward a university is far more demanding than doing likewise with a business of comparable scale.

Universities intent on achieving excellence compete globally and use international head-hunters to track down talent. When a presidential or vice-presidential vacancy is due to arise, a major global talent hunt is launched. In leading US universities, salary is seldom the constraint: but finding the right person willing to take the job is.

The situation in Ireland is otherwise. University governing authorities are finding that, while they have the discretion to head-hunt, salary constraints dominate the recruitment of senior talent.

The annual salary paid to Irish university presidents ranges from €186,000 to €205,000 and in some cases the president is obliged to live on campus in the president's residence (often considered more of an imposition thaa benefit). It might seem that remuneration is high enough already and the proposal to move into the €300,000 range is unjustified. But the reality is vividly evident, to those attempting to recruit leadership at both presidential and vice-presidential levels, that existing remuneration packages are uncompetitive. For example, recently a potential candidate for a vice-presidential position at an Irish university was approached. He was working in a senior position in Ireland and willing to accept the university challenge, but when it emerged that his existing earnings were over €300,000 discussions came to a grinding halt: the university could not compete and the appointment was not made.

With experiences like this it is not surprising that those who recognise the importance of moving our universities towards the top-100 league realise that, if world-class leadership is to be attracted and retained, Ireland must abandon the old constraints that hamper senior executive recruitment. Ireland has made great strides recently in putting flexible remuneration packages in place to attract academic research talent; it must do likewise for university leadership.

Remuneration for university presidents has escalated rapidly elsewhere, as an increasing number of developed countries competes intensely for scarce talent. Ireland is now at a serious competitive disadvantage. In the UK the earnings of many university vice-chancellors breached the €300,000 mark several years ago, while in the US, 50 university presidents are paid over $500,000 and five over $l million a year.

In this competitive international context the proposed annual salary for Irish university presidents, in the €300,000 range, does not appear outlandish. Smart organisations committed to excellence don't skimp on their senior executive team.

Dr Edward M Walsh is founding president of the University of Limerick

Tacitha

N THEIR obsession with redrawing academic maps and grabbing more power for the central bureaucracy, university heads have wasted large amounts of time and money, left the majority of students worse off and left lecturing staff to pick up the pieces.

That is the appalling record of Irish university heads in recent years. Only people totally out of touch with reality could have submitted a claim for €320,000 a year on foot of such a disruptive pursuit of counter-productive policies by the heads in recent years.

The claim by the heads that they are no longer educators but chief executives is presumably intended to promote their pay demand. I ask why? If people in universities don't want to lecture any more this should indicate not a large pay rise but a change of career out of universities for those who are no longer educators but aspirant chief executives. The reported grounds for this 72pc pay increase demand by the heads also includes the claims that they they have "unique mental horsepower", "mental intelligence" and "street-smart problem-solving skills". The claim now goes to the Review Body for Higher Remuneration in the Public Service. It should be rejected.

The heads are completely out of touch with students, lecture halls and lecturing staff. To that extent their claims not to be educators are correct. They should now make the logical career choice rather than further disturb the university and add to their cost base.

Claims of complex leadership by university heads are inflated. The crucial leadership role is that of heads of departments.

By abolishing large numbers of departments and faculties, the heads have caused leadership problems. In securing the removal of senior academic representatives from college boards the heads are less accountable now than in the past.

Their claims of "horse power" and "street-smart problem-solving skills" are ironic, perhaps unintentionally so. An increase in student numbers impacts on those who still lecture far more than on those who regard themselves above such duties.

Irish universities would benefit from their departure. Oxford rejected managerialist university governance on December 19 last.

The heads of Irish universities, in seeking pay of €320,000 a year, contrived a crisis in the sector with their pay rise as the solution. There was no crisis other than the one which their continued presence in the sector has precipitated.

The status of Irish degrees is high throughout the world. The Irish education and labour market interaction is outstanding, doubling the number at work and reducing unemployment from 17pc to 4pc since 1987. Foreign extern examiners and departmental reviewers confirm that standing.

Complaints by the university heads that Finance Minister Cowen's 2005 budget embodies "a blinkered public expenditure control mindset" and would continue "the already mediocre international standing and competitiveness of Irish universities" were without foundation. They were made to promote the egocentric macho-man managerial style of the seven heads as illustrated in this wage claim.

The OECD (2004) praised the high standards of Irish higher education. It cautioned that its report "does not represent a case for the introduction of crude managerialism or the elimination of collegiality".

Crude managerialism and the elimination of collegiality are the defining features of the present crop of Irish university heads. Add €320,000 a year each for those who contrived the crisis and we have a combined cost which Ireland should refuse to pay.

Dr Sean Barrett is Senior

Lecturer at the Department of Economics, Trinity College