In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

The business of academia

(USA Today) Fifteen presidents of public research universities took home at least US$700,000 in 2007-08, up from eight last year. Nearly one-third now earn more than US$500,000, according to the annual Chronicle of Higher Education survey released Monday. A 6.4 per cent increase in tuition in the U.S. has helped fund the salary increases. All of this is happening at a time when U.S. universities are cutting back programs and laying off employees as a result of the economic recession.

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Site 1: So what does a President do?

A University Blog: The diary of a university President
A blog by the president of Dublin City University, Ferdinand von Prondzynski. On this page, he discusses how the role of president changes from school to school. He started the blog in June 2008 and has been updated fairly regularly since. It deals with a number of issues a president and any academic working at a university deals with.

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Site 2: Presidents pay at Ontario universities

Hamilton Spectator
The Hamilton Spectator compiled a list of university presidents in Ontario and what they are paid. The highest paid president is Peter George of McMaster University, in Hamilton. It also includes what the university pays for residence, cars, leave pay and other extras.

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Site 3: Which uni presidents make more than Bush?

Macleans.ca
Maclean's compares the pay of university presidents to prominent politicians and CEOs. While university presidents make a hefty wage, Erin Millar shows it's nothing compared with $1.5 million Tom Parkinson, CEO of Hydro One, made in 2007. The second page of the site includes a chart to compare salaries and other compensation of people like Toronto's Mayor and Canadian judges.

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Site 4: What profs are paid

Statscan
This Statscan PDF gives comprehensive details about the differing pay ranges for university professors in Canada in 2006/07. It examines 67 universities with information on number of staff, average salary for differing level of professor and highest pay. According to the available statistics, U of Calgary have the highest paid full professors with a maximum pay of $148,099 per year, while the lowest minimum pay is for a Limited-term Faculty member at University of Saskatchewan at $32,867.

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Site 5: Facts about Higher Education Financing

Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities represents 62 universities in the U.S. and Canada. In January 2008, they released "Facts about Higher Education Financing," a document that details how the various of levels of government pay for tuition at American universities. It also talks about how decreased state funding has increased tuition costs.