Mark Yudof As Well As The Mensurate Of Worth
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Edit
In recent weeks, University of California President Mark Yudof has been questioned for handing out executive raises, spell most other employees inwards the UC organization volition receive got their salaries decreased. Yudof’s principal response to this criticism is to dry soil that the academy needs to retain its best people, in addition to if the UC does non offering its altitude administrators competitive pay, they volition select ameliorate offers. This defense forcefulness so represents several hidden assumptions: 1) alone high grade administrators are worthy of retentiveness efforts; 2) the vast bulk of employees are non every bit valuable every bit the altitude executives; 3) everyone should sacrifice except for the highest paid employees; 4) the highest paid employees receive got no loyalty to the UC organization in addition to are e'er on the await out for a ameliorate deal; in addition to 5) the UC is existence held hostage to people who are constantly threatening to leave.
If nosotros await deeper into these hidden assumptions, nosotros come across how the academy has followed Wall Street’s lead, in addition to that no affair how badly altitude executives perform or how badly the financial establishment is doing, the highest earners volition live rewarded amongst increased compensation (see below for a listing of recent increases). Moreover, since all the other workers inwards the UC organization are truly getting pay cuts, it must hateful that the pay for the wealthiest is existence subsidized past times everyone else. The UC’s compensation construction so reflects the full general motility of the U.S. economy: the rich learn richer, the pathetic learn poorer, in addition to the middle-class gets left amongst nothing. However, this economical organization is non the lawsuit of some inevitable laid of laws; instead, each economical construction is determined past times priorities in addition to choices.
In his brusk fourth dimension at UC, Yudof has made it clear that his priority is to back upwardly the “top people,” but who precisely are these leaders, in addition to are they truly worthy of their compensation? To respond this question, permit us get-go await at Yudof himself. Since 1 of his principal tasks is to brand for sure the academy remains financially able to perform its centre mission, how is he doing on this task? For example, has he done a skillful task working amongst the dry soil to ensure that the UC budget remains intact? As far every bit I tin dismiss tell, he has completely failed on this account, in addition to spell he has criticized the dry soil for reducing the university’s funding, it seems that he has done piddling to foreclose this budget loss. After all, he unveiled his “fiscal emergency” in addition to furlough excogitation months earlier the dry soil budget was resolved, in addition to this displace showed that the UC had accepted the cutting earlier it was enacted. Furthermore, at that spot has been no yell of him trying to brand a bargain amongst the governor or some excogitation almost hereafter funding. In fact, Yudof is already going around the dry soil telling people that the budget volition live worse side past times side year. So on his interactions amongst the state, I would give him an F.
Now let’s await at the UC’s full general finances, in addition to hither things appear to live to a greater extent than mixed. In terms of the overall revenue brought inwards past times the university, this twelvemonth appears to live a winner because the total operating budget has gone up. Thus, fifty-fifty though Yudof has declared a financial emergency, the academy every bit a whole is inwards relative skillful shape in addition to external sources for funding receive got gone up. However, his leadership must live called into interrogation on this forepart because he does non seem to sympathise how the UC operating budget works. For example, he get-go tried to trim down the pay of employees funded out of external grants, in addition to so he said, the academy could non exercise this. Moreover, he started out the furlough excogitation past times announcing that all pay would live reduced, but he after reversed course, in addition to said that for many altitude earners, alone some of the pay would live reduced. He too has claimed that the furlough excogitation would relieve $180 million, but inwards reality the position out is closer to $600 million. When he was confronted amongst this discrepancy, he only said that most of the savings would live returned to the units. In other words, the salary savings excogitation is truly a salary redistribution plan, in addition to no 1 knows how this coin volition live allocated.
Perhaps Yudof’s biggest work surface area inwards relation to UC’s internal budget is the mode he constantly repeats that for sure funds are legally restricted. Although it has been pointed out that on the university’s ain audited financial forms, 70% of the UC revenue is unrestricted, Yudof has said that it would live illegal for the academy to utilization coin from external sources inwards social club to aid supplement the loss of dry soil funds. After all, who is paying for all of the executive raises? It turns out that most external grants that are awarded to the academy require the payment of indirect costs to the school, in addition to this coin goes to rattling full general things similar key administration, full general utility costs, staff, in addition to facilities. There is thus no direct relation betwixt the specific costs of a item grant in addition to the specific expenses of the university. For example, if a professor gets a $100,000 grant to prepare a Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation applied scientific discipline from the federal government, an additional $50,000 is so given to the academy to pay for overhead, at that spot is no constabulary requiring that most of that $50,000 is spent on anything direct associated to the project; instead a full general charge per unit of measurement is applied to the grant in addition to coin gets redistributed inwards a rattling mysterious way. In fact, all of the grant coin goes to the Office of the President, in addition to UCOP skims off a for sure amount earlier it is sent dorsum to the campuses. Therefore, spell it looks similar the coin coming inwards from external grants is dedicated to rattling specific projects, much of it is rattling flexible. Yudof so is non telling the truth when he says that this coin is all restricted past times law.
This same interrogation of restricted funds relates to all of the revenue-generating sectors of the UC system. For instance, the medical centers clear hundreds of millions of dollars of earnings each year, but Yudof claims that this coin cannot live used to brand upwardly for the loss of full general funds. However, this is precisely what the UC did inwards 1993, in addition to at that spot is no constabulary preventing the academy to exercise it again. In fact, Yudof’s furlough excogitation is reducing the salaries of many of the people employed inwards the medical field, so it appears to live highly contradictory for him to insist that they cannot exercise it. It is too foreign that these medical centers receive got declared that they receive got no financial relation to the university, but they utilization the university’s yell in addition to pension excogitation to attract workers in addition to patients. These centers too enshroud behind the academy to hold their non-profit status, in addition to this brings us to the interrogation of what they exercise amongst their annual profits. It seems that inwards social club to rest not-for-profit, the medical centers receive got to funnel most of their extra coin dorsum into pay in addition to construction, in addition to this is 1 argue why the compensation for the medical faculty is so high. Furthermore, due to their wealth, which translates into ability inwards the UC system, the medical professors in addition to administrators receive got successfully petitioned Yudof to non cutting their extra compensation.
The medical centers combined amongst extension, summertime programs, in addition to housing in addition to parking brand upwardly over 40% of the UC operating budget, in addition to all of these sectors earnings from the UC yell in addition to ofttimes percentage faculty, buildings, in addition to management amongst the full general campus. There is thus no argue why these revenue-generating units cannot come upwardly up amongst funds to brand upwardly for the loss of dry soil support. There is too no argue why the employees inwards these units should non receive got participated inwards the full general furlough plan, in addition to it seems that the alone argue they receive got been spared is that the academy considers money-making centers to live worthy of protection, but activities similar teaching students must live cut.
The side past times side biggest surface area of argument is the endowment, which does receive got some restrictions placed on it, but many of these restrictions are vague in addition to the non vague ones normally direct the coin to fund aspects of the full general fund. For instance, many gifts are dedicated to funding financial aid, undergraduate education, or specific departments. Moreover, it seems foreign that Yudof says he cannot pass this endowment coin because it is restricted, but the academy tin dismiss invest it in addition to lose it.
This interrogation of investments brings us to the lastly role of the UC budget, which shows Yudof at his worse. It is of import to notation that at the same time, Yudof was claiming that the dry soil budget reduction of $812 would motility a financial emergency, the UC lost $23 billion inwards its investment funds. While nosotros cannot blame Yudof for losing this money, nosotros tin dismiss blame him for non dealing amongst these losses or fifty-fifty mentioning them inwards public. Instead, he used the dry soil reduction to focus all attending on an external enemy every bit he deflected attending away from the existent rootage of UC’s problems, which is the treatment of its ain money. While many institutions lost a lot of coin during the global financial meltdown, UC’s pension in addition to endowment investments receive got been underperforming ever since their direction began to live outsourced inwards 2000. By hiring external coin managers, the UC non alone increased the terms of doing business, but it too ended upwardly investing inwards highly risky financial instruments. The UC, nether the leadership of regent chair in addition to investment banker Richard Blum, too picked the worse fourth dimension to transfer coin from relatively stable bonds to existent estate, in addition to due inwards role to this alter inwards its investment strategies, the regents in addition to the president receive got gambled away the hereafter financial wellness of the university.
Since the UC lost so much coin inwards its pension fund, it volition live forced to require substantial employee in addition to employer contributions. Fundamentally, the increases inwards employee contributions volition stand upwardly for a permanent pay cutting for the workers, spell the demand for the academy to fund the pension excogitation volition exercise a permanent financial crisis for the academy unless something major is done on this front. Unfortunately, Yudof has non talked almost the UC’s pension losses, in addition to so no 1 knows almost the truthful financial work facing the university. What Yudof in addition to others receive got too failed to verbalise over is the fact that past times constantly giving the “market worthy” people higher salaries in addition to exceptional retirement deals, the pension work alone gets worse.
The solutions to the UC’s financial difficulties volition receive got to exercise amongst reining inwards compensation, sharing revenue betwixt units, establishing budgetary transparency, expanding the position out of mid-level earners (so they tin dismiss pay into the pension plan), in addition to re-establishing educational activity every bit a priority. Since Yudof has non shown himself to live interested inwards whatever of these tasks, I say to him: You are non worthy.
Bob Samuels, UC-AFT
For a listing of Executive Deals Approved of during the Fiscal Emergency, see
http://www.upte.org/about/press/2009-07-23.pdf
If nosotros await deeper into these hidden assumptions, nosotros come across how the academy has followed Wall Street’s lead, in addition to that no affair how badly altitude executives perform or how badly the financial establishment is doing, the highest earners volition live rewarded amongst increased compensation (see below for a listing of recent increases). Moreover, since all the other workers inwards the UC organization are truly getting pay cuts, it must hateful that the pay for the wealthiest is existence subsidized past times everyone else. The UC’s compensation construction so reflects the full general motility of the U.S. economy: the rich learn richer, the pathetic learn poorer, in addition to the middle-class gets left amongst nothing. However, this economical organization is non the lawsuit of some inevitable laid of laws; instead, each economical construction is determined past times priorities in addition to choices.
In his brusk fourth dimension at UC, Yudof has made it clear that his priority is to back upwardly the “top people,” but who precisely are these leaders, in addition to are they truly worthy of their compensation? To respond this question, permit us get-go await at Yudof himself. Since 1 of his principal tasks is to brand for sure the academy remains financially able to perform its centre mission, how is he doing on this task? For example, has he done a skillful task working amongst the dry soil to ensure that the UC budget remains intact? As far every bit I tin dismiss tell, he has completely failed on this account, in addition to spell he has criticized the dry soil for reducing the university’s funding, it seems that he has done piddling to foreclose this budget loss. After all, he unveiled his “fiscal emergency” in addition to furlough excogitation months earlier the dry soil budget was resolved, in addition to this displace showed that the UC had accepted the cutting earlier it was enacted. Furthermore, at that spot has been no yell of him trying to brand a bargain amongst the governor or some excogitation almost hereafter funding. In fact, Yudof is already going around the dry soil telling people that the budget volition live worse side past times side year. So on his interactions amongst the state, I would give him an F.
Now let’s await at the UC’s full general finances, in addition to hither things appear to live to a greater extent than mixed. In terms of the overall revenue brought inwards past times the university, this twelvemonth appears to live a winner because the total operating budget has gone up. Thus, fifty-fifty though Yudof has declared a financial emergency, the academy every bit a whole is inwards relative skillful shape in addition to external sources for funding receive got gone up. However, his leadership must live called into interrogation on this forepart because he does non seem to sympathise how the UC operating budget works. For example, he get-go tried to trim down the pay of employees funded out of external grants, in addition to so he said, the academy could non exercise this. Moreover, he started out the furlough excogitation past times announcing that all pay would live reduced, but he after reversed course, in addition to said that for many altitude earners, alone some of the pay would live reduced. He too has claimed that the furlough excogitation would relieve $180 million, but inwards reality the position out is closer to $600 million. When he was confronted amongst this discrepancy, he only said that most of the savings would live returned to the units. In other words, the salary savings excogitation is truly a salary redistribution plan, in addition to no 1 knows how this coin volition live allocated.
Perhaps Yudof’s biggest work surface area inwards relation to UC’s internal budget is the mode he constantly repeats that for sure funds are legally restricted. Although it has been pointed out that on the university’s ain audited financial forms, 70% of the UC revenue is unrestricted, Yudof has said that it would live illegal for the academy to utilization coin from external sources inwards social club to aid supplement the loss of dry soil funds. After all, who is paying for all of the executive raises? It turns out that most external grants that are awarded to the academy require the payment of indirect costs to the school, in addition to this coin goes to rattling full general things similar key administration, full general utility costs, staff, in addition to facilities. There is thus no direct relation betwixt the specific costs of a item grant in addition to the specific expenses of the university. For example, if a professor gets a $100,000 grant to prepare a Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation applied scientific discipline from the federal government, an additional $50,000 is so given to the academy to pay for overhead, at that spot is no constabulary requiring that most of that $50,000 is spent on anything direct associated to the project; instead a full general charge per unit of measurement is applied to the grant in addition to coin gets redistributed inwards a rattling mysterious way. In fact, all of the grant coin goes to the Office of the President, in addition to UCOP skims off a for sure amount earlier it is sent dorsum to the campuses. Therefore, spell it looks similar the coin coming inwards from external grants is dedicated to rattling specific projects, much of it is rattling flexible. Yudof so is non telling the truth when he says that this coin is all restricted past times law.
This same interrogation of restricted funds relates to all of the revenue-generating sectors of the UC system. For instance, the medical centers clear hundreds of millions of dollars of earnings each year, but Yudof claims that this coin cannot live used to brand upwardly for the loss of full general funds. However, this is precisely what the UC did inwards 1993, in addition to at that spot is no constabulary preventing the academy to exercise it again. In fact, Yudof’s furlough excogitation is reducing the salaries of many of the people employed inwards the medical field, so it appears to live highly contradictory for him to insist that they cannot exercise it. It is too foreign that these medical centers receive got declared that they receive got no financial relation to the university, but they utilization the university’s yell in addition to pension excogitation to attract workers in addition to patients. These centers too enshroud behind the academy to hold their non-profit status, in addition to this brings us to the interrogation of what they exercise amongst their annual profits. It seems that inwards social club to rest not-for-profit, the medical centers receive got to funnel most of their extra coin dorsum into pay in addition to construction, in addition to this is 1 argue why the compensation for the medical faculty is so high. Furthermore, due to their wealth, which translates into ability inwards the UC system, the medical professors in addition to administrators receive got successfully petitioned Yudof to non cutting their extra compensation.
The medical centers combined amongst extension, summertime programs, in addition to housing in addition to parking brand upwardly over 40% of the UC operating budget, in addition to all of these sectors earnings from the UC yell in addition to ofttimes percentage faculty, buildings, in addition to management amongst the full general campus. There is thus no argue why these revenue-generating units cannot come upwardly up amongst funds to brand upwardly for the loss of dry soil support. There is too no argue why the employees inwards these units should non receive got participated inwards the full general furlough plan, in addition to it seems that the alone argue they receive got been spared is that the academy considers money-making centers to live worthy of protection, but activities similar teaching students must live cut.
The side past times side biggest surface area of argument is the endowment, which does receive got some restrictions placed on it, but many of these restrictions are vague in addition to the non vague ones normally direct the coin to fund aspects of the full general fund. For instance, many gifts are dedicated to funding financial aid, undergraduate education, or specific departments. Moreover, it seems foreign that Yudof says he cannot pass this endowment coin because it is restricted, but the academy tin dismiss invest it in addition to lose it.
This interrogation of investments brings us to the lastly role of the UC budget, which shows Yudof at his worse. It is of import to notation that at the same time, Yudof was claiming that the dry soil budget reduction of $812 would motility a financial emergency, the UC lost $23 billion inwards its investment funds. While nosotros cannot blame Yudof for losing this money, nosotros tin dismiss blame him for non dealing amongst these losses or fifty-fifty mentioning them inwards public. Instead, he used the dry soil reduction to focus all attending on an external enemy every bit he deflected attending away from the existent rootage of UC’s problems, which is the treatment of its ain money. While many institutions lost a lot of coin during the global financial meltdown, UC’s pension in addition to endowment investments receive got been underperforming ever since their direction began to live outsourced inwards 2000. By hiring external coin managers, the UC non alone increased the terms of doing business, but it too ended upwardly investing inwards highly risky financial instruments. The UC, nether the leadership of regent chair in addition to investment banker Richard Blum, too picked the worse fourth dimension to transfer coin from relatively stable bonds to existent estate, in addition to due inwards role to this alter inwards its investment strategies, the regents in addition to the president receive got gambled away the hereafter financial wellness of the university.
Since the UC lost so much coin inwards its pension fund, it volition live forced to require substantial employee in addition to employer contributions. Fundamentally, the increases inwards employee contributions volition stand upwardly for a permanent pay cutting for the workers, spell the demand for the academy to fund the pension excogitation volition exercise a permanent financial crisis for the academy unless something major is done on this front. Unfortunately, Yudof has non talked almost the UC’s pension losses, in addition to so no 1 knows almost the truthful financial work facing the university. What Yudof in addition to others receive got too failed to verbalise over is the fact that past times constantly giving the “market worthy” people higher salaries in addition to exceptional retirement deals, the pension work alone gets worse.
The solutions to the UC’s financial difficulties volition receive got to exercise amongst reining inwards compensation, sharing revenue betwixt units, establishing budgetary transparency, expanding the position out of mid-level earners (so they tin dismiss pay into the pension plan), in addition to re-establishing educational activity every bit a priority. Since Yudof has non shown himself to live interested inwards whatever of these tasks, I say to him: You are non worthy.
Bob Samuels, UC-AFT
For a listing of Executive Deals Approved of during the Fiscal Emergency, see
http://www.upte.org/about/press/2009-07-23.pdf