Rumored salary for Schmidt draws ire of faculty

[bonniesin2k6]

I'm still looking for a refund for Gan's class which was comprised of 3 sessions where he didn't speak a word because he was protesting the war in Iraq, and a ten minute introduction each class that he used for brewing his own coffee.

Do I get punitive damages for having to watch a grown man (Gan) cry during that class?

[alumnussbu]

We've all had our share of lousy profs who just weren't getting the job done. Unfortunately, unlike Coach Solomon, the academic types pull down a pretty good paycheck month after month, year after year no matter what sort of job they do. And I guess that's the diference really between a prof and Coach Schmidt. Coach Schmidt first of all is constantly in the center of a very glaring spotlight and has tremendous pressure on him. If Coach Schmidt's teams win.....then a whole lot of money and media attention rolls SBU's way..if they lose...well.... just look at the whole Solomon era. So if a prof does a half-assed job it really doesn't matter much except to the poor students taking his/her class. If Coach Schmidt does a half assed job it matters a great deal to just about everyone almost instantaneously. And that's really where the difference in compensation comes in. Put another way, if a prof (or anyone else), feels the need for a significant pay increase then he/she needs to start the resume mill cranking.

[johnwayne100]

Do they know if someone is donating the money for the difference in the salary?

Yes, someone IS donating money to subsidize the head coach's salary. Nothing wrong with that, if that is where someone wants his donation to go, so be it, and thank you very much.


A question though, according to the other article (top of Page 2 in this thread), if there are 10 positions coming open, and most of them are not going to be re-filled, where is that payroll money going ?

[presstowin]

It is disturbing to hear many Bona faculty do not not support the men and women who have put their lives on the line for this country. Is it too much of a hastle to stand up for them? Not displaying the flag in the classroom. What message does this send? Where is the moral fiber of this university? I have no respect for the faculty that have reacted this way. Why is there a flower garden near the Reilly Center to honor the men and women who have fought for our country and died. Are their faculty opposing this also? Names are listed on the monument. Just what is Bona's position andwhat respect do they have? I have no respect for the faculty. I am scared to ask this, but what percentage of the faculty are embarrased to have a flag in the classroom. Does anyone know this? I won't support the general fund or the basketball BAF. The more I hear the professors whine the more I don't respect their position. They can relocate to a liberal state college. Good Luck!

[room109]

If the faculty does not like the atmosphere at SBU they are free to go out and find a positon at another college.

[bonarealist]

dev56: SBU is building a new science building which will finally attract top science students to a new facility. my point was that we can't just build a building - the other academic infrastructure needs to be put in place and resources need to be spent on that. next time you're at a college fair, be sure to talk about the new science building. guess you missed that news.

you ask which "value" money comes in under. last i checked, it's a value of fair pay and compensation, workers rights, etc. that may strike some as socialist and that's not what i'm advocating. my point all along has been that the faculty and staff have been told there's no money for them, but poof, a lot of money appears for the basketball coach. that's a values issue. here are two BV articles that detail the situation:

Lack of resources stall staff raises
media.www.thebv.org/media/storage/paper1111/news/2007/02/09/News/Lack-Of.Resources.Stall.Staff.Raises-2707794.shtml

University delays staff, faculty raises
media.www.thebv.org/media/storage/paper1111/news/2007/01/19/News/University.Delays.Staff.Faculty.Raises-2653695.shtml

Now sure, 2 percent raises are due in June, but methinks the basketball coach didn't get a huge 2 percent increase. It still seems that some of you really don't care about the faculty. That's truly surprising. I guess when some of you look at SBU as nothing more than a place for basketball entertainment, then I see you point. I love basketball, too, but some of us value the academic portion of the university, too. Maybe we're just silly in caring about it and trying to give voice to this issue.

And just so we have all the facts, here's some of the info I posted a few months ago about SBU's finances as reported on the annual IRS form it must submit:

Year: Revenue/Expenses (in millions)
2004: $80/$70
2003: $70/$67
2002: $67/$66
2001: $62/$60

Year: Tuition Revenue (in millions)
2004: $47.9
2003: $44.5
2002: $41.0
2001: $39.1

Year: Residence Hall Revenue (in millions)
2004: $6.5
2003: $6.1
2002: $5.8
2001: $5.4

Year: All Salaries and Wages (in millions)
2004: $22.8
2003: $21.2
2002: $21.3
2001: $19.5

Year: All Athletic Expenses (real figures)
2004: $708,290
2003: $727,278
2002: $745,041
2001: $627,672

Year: Basketball Revenue (real figures)
2004: $452,334
2003: $516,506
2002: $557,932
2001: $579,683

Year: Research (real figures)
2004: $17,571
2003: $17,696
2002: $15,983
2001: $10,514

Year: President's Compensation (real figures)
2004: $129,385 (Sr. Margaret)*
2003: $143,750 (Fr. Dominic)*
2002: $135,000 (Wick)
2001: $152,500 (Wick)
*Payments made directly to religious order

Year: Men's Basketball Coach Compensation (real figures)
2004: $167,500 (Sol)
2003: $163,000 (Sol)
2002: $307,813 (JVBK)
2001: $215,000 (JVBK)

[unclefrosty]

good day everyone

I did not read or hear that the faculty are asking for 79% increases in salary, not even 10%, it seems they are looking for a "cost of living" increase (2 to 4%) to keep up with life. $30,000 two years ago and $30,000 now do not have the same purchasing power, thus each year without a raise actually translates to a demotion in pay. Unless I am missing something the mortgage company, property taxes, grocery store and gas station don't care if the prof has less kids in the classroom, their costs go up or need to be paid and it seems the profs are just looking to keep pace with inflation, not lining their pockets to get rich.

It smacks of dishonesty to cry poor and then throw cash around. I am with the profs that they should see a reasonable cost of living increase (along with other employees as well). Maybe some who are making over $100,000 could forgo their increases so that others may survive.

Maybe Schmidt should forgo part of his massive salary, giving some to the lowest paid at the school. This would show he really wants to be there and that he understands true Franciscan Values.

[mcspin]

bonniesin2k6 said:

I'm still looking for a refund for Gan's class which was comprised of 3 sessions where he didn't speak a word because he was protesting the war in Iraq, and a ten minute introduction each class that he used for brewing his own coffee.

Do I get punitive damages for having to watch a grown man (Gan) cry during that class?

And to think, a guy can do this and not be fired! Simply outrageous! He's probably at the top of the list fighting for a raise. In a real business, he'd have been out the door within minutes of the first day of the protest. He's overpaid by whatever he makes.

[mcspin]

bonarealist said:

dev56: It still seems that some of you really don't care about the faculty. That's truly surprising.

Why should I care about the faculty? Do they need welfare? I care that they do their job and that they do it better than the next guy, or else I say, give the job to the next guy. If the pay is too low, move on. SBU will hire another prof. If the market demands SBU pay more, then we'll pay more. If there are plenty of potential profs to step in, then we should not pay more.

They get paid a substantial amount of money for a pretty easy job where, when tenured, they can get away with murder. No, I don't give a rat's ass about the faculty. When they're held to a higher standard, then maybe I'll care.

[bonarealist]

mcspin: thanks for summarizing your callous view of those actually doing the mission of the university.

[sneakers]

unclefrosty said:

Maybe Schmidt should forgo part of his massive salary, giving some to the lowest paid at the school. This would show he really wants to be there and that he understands true Franciscan Values.

Was St. Francis really a communist? I must have missed that in my studies.

I agree with the above post by Rizz that almost all of us agree that the profs need a rise, but this can only happen if we fix the financial condition of the school via increased enrollment. The raise in coach's salary is $133,000 (if the rumor of the $300k Schmidt salary is correct, and Sol earned $167k). This is small dough that would not go very far when divided up among all the faculty and employees at Bonas and is probably best spent on marketing the school. Also, since this increase was funded by an alumni this whole thread is moot.

Bonarealist and unclefrosty - If you are really advocating cutting the money spent on marketing the school (which in reality is what the basketball team's budget really is), not only will there be no money for faculty and employee raises in the future, but get ready for big layoffs! Call me Mr. Obvious, but the ability of the school to give raises to profs and other employees is based on the amount of revenue it collects, which in turn is based on the number of students enrolled at Bonas. Increased enrollment will result in a financially stable institution that can then afford to give raises. If I was a faculty memeber at Bonas I would applaud the decision to step it up on the basketball front.

[spils84]

bonniesin2k6 said:

I'm still looking for a refund for Gan's class which was comprised of 3 sessions where he didn't speak a word because he was protesting the war in Iraq, and a ten minute introduction each class that he used for brewing his own coffee.

For those that say that SBU does not care about the professors, isn't there a new coffee house going up adjacent to Hickey Dining Hall? This could mean that this buffoon, instead of spending his valuable time brewing coffee, will have more time to pout about world events.

[DemBonnies]

Yawn.....can we perhaps talk about something else...what do people think about bringing back football to SBU?

[dev56]

Bonarealist: thanks for your theory that I am uniformed and missed the news. I am well aware of Congressman Walsh securing funds for the new science building. Top science students will not come for a shiny new building. It is the work that is done in the building, research for example. SBU is not a research university. Maybe it will become one. But if faculty are up in arms about raises what happens when the salary structure becomes skewed to get top flight faculty in science? I guess that would be ok because it is faculty reaping the benefits.

If the response to my question of “is there a donor footing the bill for the new coach’s salary” it makes the faculty concerns a moot point. The money is not coming from the same pool that would be gong for salaries. They could take it up with him or her, if it truely is the case, and piss off another donor so they refrain from contributing in the future.

Unfortunately, I do not do recruiting fairs anymore. I like many other of my classmates that I speak with and other alumni for that matter are simply fed up with the university. We would rather spin our wheels in other places. When the university and the faculty finally realize this (they have been told numerous times but do nothing) and try and bring those disenfranchised back into the fold maybe the university will flourish again. Maybe look at shaking up the Alumni Office.

Another faculty problem is that they think all donations should go to academics. Some alumni and other donors simply do not want to donate to the general fund of the university. They would rather donate for a rec center, art center, baseball field, or apparently towards a coach’s salary. I know I have been there and tried shaking the trees but the university up until recently has stagnated in going after those that wish to donate to other than the general fund. Have they finally hit up Golisano or at least begun the process of detailing the virtues of donating to SBU with him?

Maybe realist, you can bring the concerns you hear on the board to the faculty senate or discuss them the next time you are in the faculty lounge above Hickey if it still exists. Or maybe they could close the lounge and dedicate those funds to get people off off food stamps.

[spils84]

Thanks for asking...bringing back football would do the same thing as resurrecting the basketball program. It would increase enrollment, which in turn would allow Mr. Coffee to get his raise.