Oxford boss: My salary is less than banker’s
THE head of Oxford University defended her £350,000 pay yesterday by comparing it to the earnings of footballers and bankers.
Speaking for the first time about the outcry over vice chancellors’ earnings, Louise Richardson said her salary was far lower than many bosses in the private sector.
She also called politicians ‘mendacious’ for criticising the university leaders’ fat-cat pay.
Professor Richardson, who was principal and vice chancellor of the University of St Andrews for seven years until January 2016, said vice chancellors operated in the ‘global marketplace’, and that many of her counterparts in the US were paid much more.
Her comments come after it emerged more than £100,000 was spent on her £2million grace-and-favour home in Oxford. Her salary package is £410,000 when her pension is included.
Critics have said it is inappropriate for a vice chancellor to enjoy such lavish pay and perks when annual student fees have gone up from £9,000 to £9,250. But she told the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit in London:
‘Compared to a footballer it looks very different’
‘It’s completely mendacious by politicians to suggest vice chancellors have used the £9,000 fee to enhance their own salaries. We know that the £9,000 fees were a substitute for the withdrawal of government funding.
‘My salary is £350,000. That’s very high compared to academics, who are very lowly paid. Compared to a footballer, it looks very different, compared to a banker it looks very different. But actually we operate in a global marketplace.’
She said 40 heads of US universities earned more than $1million three years ago, with at least eight on twice as much.
Professor Richardson added: ‘This is just the politicians, and I wish they wouldn’t do it – not because it’s embarrassing for me or my colleagues, but because it’s damaging.
‘One of the most admired facets of the British economy is the quality of our education.
‘The calibre of university education is something that should be celebrated... and not just trying to drag it down by making spurious correlations between fees and salaries.’
She also criticised Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education select committee, for saying students should expect a good job after their degree in return for the fees.
University heads received an average pay, including benefits, of £277,834 in 2016. The highest paid is Dame Glynis Breakwell, who earns £451,000, including benefits, at Bath University.