The state of higher education in Mississippi has been a hot topic for several months, starting this summer when the board of the Institutions of Higher Learning opted to not renew the contract of Horace Fleming, president of the University of Southern Mississippi. Despite student outcry and positive support for Fleming, he was only given a one-year contract extension, which he declined to accept. On the front page of Wednesday’s The Clarion- Ledger, an article written by Andy Kanengiser stated that the IHL is seeking higher pay for its college presidents. With our state in such dire straits and our universities all suffering from dramatic budget cuts, one has to wonder what is on the minds of those who run our state’s eight state-funded institutions of higher learning. Our state is in a financial crisis, and it does not appear as though Mississippi’s economic picture will brighten in the near future. Mississippi leads the nation in the percentage of jobs lost in the past year. How can the IHL expect to receive more money when it is becoming increasingly clear that these individuals are incapable of adequately handling their current budgets?
A prime example of this can be seen with the amount of pay given to Ronald Mason, president of Jackson State University. While I am not arguing that the IHL should increase the state salaries of Malcolm Portera or Robert Khayat, presidents of Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi, respectively, it is unjust for Mason, president of a school that is half the size of MSU, to receive a larger state salary than either Portera or Khayat.
Our universities’ leaders deserve adequate pay for the work they do, but so do our universities’ professors. Professors who have not been given raises in three years take precedence over presidents who have not been given raises in three years. Some tenured professors make less than $50,000 a year. Portera makes three times that. The IHL, however, does not feel as though that is enough. Khayat makes $280,000. That amount of money, to run that school, is ridiculously high. The IHL is now lobbying for more money in order to attract qualified applicants for vacant presidential positions at the Univesity of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi University for Women.
Instead of trying to increase money for the universities’ presidents, there should be a greater push for faculty pay. An increasing number of students throughout the state are enrolling in our universities. How can we teach increasing numbers of students without quality faculty? The answer is simple: We cannot.
Our IHL has a lot on the table and while attracting top-notch applicants to positions as important as college president is important, maintaining qualified faculty is an issue that is of equal importance. Students pay for quality education, and we deserve quality instructors.
– Zackory Kirk