Volume 91, Issue 98

Thursday, April 2, 1998

cash grab

• Pay increase for USC prez

• Davenport second-richest prez

• USC policy questioned

• Banks reject indecent loan proposal

• General degree faces extra year

• Dalhousie faculty strike possible deal

• A source of info and humour

• Snippets

• Photo 1

• Photo 2

Davenport second-richest prez

By Karena Walter
Gazette Staff

The 1997 payroll for Ontario university presidents has been released this week and Western's Paul Davenport is in second place.

However, it appears Davenport would be the highest paid president in the province if it wasn't for unusual circumstances at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Davenport's $205,000 salary trails far behind that of Lakehead President Robert Rosehart's $243,667.

Chair of Lakehead's Board of Governors Maureen Doig said Rosehart left his position in August and cashed in $132,000 that had been invested on his behalf for a number of years in case he took a sabbatical – money that had to be included in the salary disclosure figure.

In 1996, Rosehart made just over $160,000 compared to Davenport's 1996 salary of $203,052.

The salaries of senior administration members at Western are voted on by the Board of Governors every year in July. Vice-chair of the Board Carol Weldon said several factors go into deciding what a salary will be after the original base contract is negotiated when a president is hired. The Board takes into consideration the competitive marketplace, the salaries of other presidents in universities of the same size and other issues unique to Western. "From then on it's merit," she said.

Davenport's salary is reviewed each year and Board members write to the chair about his performance based on their own point of view. Davenport's salary is up $1,948 from 1996.

In compliance with Bill 26, the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, universities release the figures of employees making $100,000 or more, as reflected by their T4 slips.

Western had 138 people on the list, one more than last year.

The longest list belonged to the University of Toronto, which has 630 employees with salaries exceeding $100,000. Susan Girard, assistant secretary to U of T's Governing Council, said the list reflects the fact they have the most faculty, with 6,600 full-time. As well, the make-up of the employees is a factor. "The age profile of the faculty is such that there are more senior people."

On the flip side, Nippising University in North Bay has the shortest list, with only three people in the $100,000 club. Murray Green, VP-administration and finance, said the amount of responsibilities for positions at Nippising are on the low-end of the scale compared to other universities. As well, Green said Nippising has the lowest grant in the province and that affects the amount of money available for salaries.