"Brandeis paid ex-president Jehuda Reinharz another $4.9m this month" by Todd Wallack | Globe Staff, January 23, 2014
Brandeis University disclosed today that former president Jehuda Reinharz received a staggering $4.9 million this month, most of it deferred compensation from past years.
And the tuition hikes this spring?
The school said the announcement was part of a commitment to be more open and fair in setting executive compensation after an uproar over his pay.
Reinharz’s compensation has sparked controversy on the Waltham campus since the Globe recently reported that Reinharz earned more than $600,000 in 2011 to serve as part-time president emeritus after stepping down three years ago.
Related:
Braying About Brandeis Professor's Pay
Monday Globe Not a Good Match
That should get you caught up.
More than 1,600 alumni, students and other people with ties to Brandeis recently signed a petition protesting Reinharz’s pay and asking the board to overhaul its compensation policies, while faculty representatives called on the board to revamp its pay practices.
This week, the board of trustees approved a new slate of policies, including promises to include a faculty representative on its compensation committee, consider public confidence and fairness in setting executive pay, and promptly disclose presidential pay to faculty, instead of waiting to report the numbers on tax filings that are typically not available until at least 18 months later.
“Our new policies set very high standards,” said Brandeis board chairman Perry M. Traquina in a statement. “These governance changes turn a new page for the University and aim to make Brandeis a national leader in terms of best practices for executive compensation.”
Thankfully this looting scandal was reported by the Globe!
As part that new promise of transparency, Brandeis revealed today that on Jan. 2 it paid Reinharz $4.1 million in deferred compensation and $811,000 for sabbaticals that Reinharz accrued but never took during his 17-year tenure as the college’s president. The university said the deferred compensation was included in his total annual pay on past returns, while the sabbatical pay was referenced in a past footnote and will be reported in a tax return in May 2016.
“Instead of disclosing it in 2016, we are disclosing it now,” said Brandeis spokeswoman Ellen de Graffenreid.
The Jan. 2 lump sum payment is in addition to money Reinharz has received as president emeritus since he stepped down at the end of 2010. Since 2012, Reinharz has received $287,500 a year in salary as a part-time president emeritus and professor, but that will fall to $180,000 a year starting in July. The university also revealed today it has agreed to let him keep that salary through 2024.
In total, Reinharz is expected to collect roughly $8 million after stepping down as president, much of which was earned during his presidency and paid out later.
Sahar Massachi, 24, one of the Brandeis graduates who started the petition, said he was stunned by the pay figures.
“I can’t even process it,” Massachi said. “It’s such a big number. It’s so staggeringly large.”
Massachi said he was glad to see the changes the board made, though he said it was disappointing that it took a pay scandal to spur Brandeis to make them and wished they had gone further. For instance, the petition suggested that Brandeis cap presidential pay at 15 times the pay for the lowest paid worker.
Other colleges across the state and nation have come under fire for presidential pay packages. But the issue has been particularly controversial at Brandeis, partly because the school has long claimed social justice as one of its core values and because some of the pay was negotiated or doled out at a time when the university was facing significant financial challenges that forced it to cut benefits, lay off staffers, and even explore the idea of shutting down a beloved campus museum and selling the art.
And you wonder why I don't buy the crisis cuts from authority anymore?
But past board members pointed out that Reinharz also made a substantial contribution to the university during his tenure, raising $1.2 billion and overseeing the transformation of the university campus with the construction or renovation of 29 buildings. And the school said he remains a key adviser and fundraiser in his role as president emeritus.
Isn't that what Dobelle claimed?
The article I copied the night before was quietly rewritten:
"Brandeis paid ex-president millions more" by Todd Wallack | Globe Staff, January 23, 2014
Brandeis University disclosed Thursday that it paid former president Jehuda Reinharz $811,000 this month for sabbatical leaves that he accumulated but never took during his 17-year presidency and will pay him an additional $2 million for part-time work over the next decade.
The $5 million payout has been $ubordinated!
The announcement came after an uproar over disclosure of how much Reinharz has been paid since he left the president’s office at the end of 2010. Brandeis officials said they voluntarily revealed details about his pay as part of a new commitment to be more open and fair in setting executive compensation….
University officials said that the $811,000 in sabbatical pay was part of a $4.9 million lump sum payment Reinharz received on January 2. The rest was for deferred compensation that officials at the Waltham university said was gradually earned and reported on tax returns during Reinharz’s tenure as president.
That payment was AFTER the Globe expose! This preemptive announcement is Brandeis p.r. damage control.
A university spokeswoman said the sabbatical pay was mentioned in a previous footnote and will be reported again, along with the payment of the deferred compensation, in a tax return in May 2016. But the university made the point of voluntarily including the figure in an announcement on the new compensation policies Thursday.
“Instead of disclosing it in 2016, we are disclosing it now,” said Brandeis spokeswoman Ellen de Graffenreid.
Faculty and students alike protested after the Globe reported in November that Reinharz earned more than $600,000 in 2011 to serve as president emeritus, a part-time advisory role, in addition to receiving $800,000 that year in his new job for a Cleveland philanthropy.
The Mandel Foundation not merit a mention?
More than 1,600 alumni, students, and others with ties to Brandeis recently signed a petition protesting Reinharz’s pay, while faculty representatives called on the board to revamp its pay practices….
Though many other US colleges have come under fire for rising presidential pay, the issue has been particularly resonant at Brandeis, because the school has long claimed social justice as one of its core values.
Related: Reaching an inflection point with college presidential pay?
Reinharz’s pay also came at a time of rising tuition and as the university was facing steep budget cuts that forced it to slash employee benefits, lay off staff members, and even explore the idea of shutting down a beloved campus museum.
And sell the art collection.
The lump sum payment to Reinharz is in addition to the money he has already received as president emeritus since he stepped down at the end of 2010. Since 2012, Reinharz has received $287,500 a year in salary as a part-time president emeritus and professor, but that will fall to $180,000 a year starting in July. The university also revealed Thursday it has agreed to let him keep that $180,000 a year salary through 2024, when Reinharz will be 79.
In total, Reinharz is expected to collect roughly $8 million from Brandeis after stepping down as president, including the $4.1 million earned in deferred compensation during his presidency and paid out later.
Reinharz, the school’s second longest president, served as Brandeis president from 1994 to 2010. During the latter years of his presidency, he was one of the highest paid university leaders in the nation. He ranked number 11 in 2009, when he earned $1.5 million, including deferred compensation, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
When the money junkies have assumed the administration of ejewkhazion, it's over.
Past board members have pointed out that Reinharz also made a substantial contributions to the university during his tenure, raising $1.2 billion and overseeing the transformation of the university campus with the construction or renovation of 29 buildings. And the school said he remains a key adviser and fund-raiser in his role as president emeritus.
Reinharz’s successor, who had previously been silent on the pay controversy, weighed in for the first time to praise the new compensation policies….
Sahar Massachi, 24, one of the Brandeis graduates who started the petition, said he was stunned by the amounts being paid to Reinharz.
“I can’t even process it,” Massachi said. “It’s such a big number. It’s so staggeringly large.”
Massachi said the policies are an improvement, but he wished the board had taken tougher steps — such as capping presidential pay — and acted sooner.
“I am glad they did it, but I am sorry that it had to take a scandal to make these changes happen,” Massachi said.
Me, too.
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