Mizzou grad workers need fair pay

THE CRY is a frequent one, made by everyone from university administrators to middle managers to CEOs: "We just can't fit it in the budget." For graduate workers here at the University of Missouri, that cry has fallen on deaf ears.

The University of Missouri (MU) School of Medicine Dean Patrick Delafontaine resigned September 21 after less than a year on the job. The golden parachute compensation packet for leaving this position? Delafontaine will receive $1.2 million from MU, a guaranteed $600,000 per year for the first two years on the job. The figure includes pay Delafontaine has earned since he started at MU.

Delafontaine's departure comes a few months after MU kicked off significant health-related projects. In July, the School of Medicine began its $42.5 million expansion project that includes a new medical school building at MU and a Springfield clinical campus. Additionally, MU Health Care began construction in June on a $40 million, four-story Missouri Orthopaedic Institute expansion.

As with many public universities across the country, the bloated salaries of administrators come at a high price. A recent survey released by the Chronicle of Higher Education examined pay for chief executives at 220 public universities and school systems. It found the median salary for presidents who served a full year was $428,250. At the University of Missouri, the average salary for a dean is $240,000 per year. This does not include bonuses.

Read more: http://socialistworker.org/2015/09/24/mizzou-grad-workers-need-fair-pay