California State University leaders this week defended the controversial hire of San Diego State University President Elliot Hirshman by applauding the $71 million he raised for the university last fiscal year. It was an “I told you so” shot at students and faculty who cried foul at the hefty executive pay raise. Hirshman was hired last year with a whopping $400,000 pay package, $100,000 more than his predecessor… But SDSU did better than that under former campus President Stephen Weber, who earned $100,000 less than Hirshman. The university raised $75 million in 2010-11 and $74 million in 2007-08. SDSU has raised an annual average of more than $70 million since it launched the Campaign for SDSU in 2007… while some have credited Hirshman for raising the big bucks this year, the day-to-day fundraising is done by a team of full-time employees, responsible for finding and courting big donors. So, how much credit does Hirshman deserve? And is it fair for CSU leaders to use SDSU’s fundraising accomplishments, which appear to be on par with previous years, to justify Hirshman’s salary?

Read full article [here].
by Heather Somerville, The Fresno Bee.

Posted: July 19th, 2012, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.