When I found out about the new first lady receiving a salary from the university of $25,000, I thought to myself, now why would the university give the first lady a salaried position? I did not understand, at that time, what exactly the first lady does that would warrant a paycheck. I hadn't personally seen the previous first lady very often, so I really didn't understand what exactly the position of first lady required. So I skipped to the next article and didn't really expect to read much more about the issue in the future.
Later, I saw an editorial labeled Unnecessarily Generous (Sept. 7) in which ... the majority opinion of the executive editors thinks that the $25,000 that Mrs. McDavis receives is fiscally irresponsible and frankly unnecessary. The editorial then cites an article that was published in May 2003 from The Chronicle of Higher Education that stated that ... 23 percent of the (presidents') spouses were receiving some level of compensation for the work that they did on their college campuses. The editorial then claims that because 75 percent of colleges and universities do not pay their first ladies, we should not either because it will set a dangerous precedent for future first ladies. It goes on to say that a first lady's duties are conditions of her husband's position (which in my opinion is a sexist notion of the past).
I decided to do a little investigating myself. I looked up the entire article in The Chronicle of Higher Education of May 23, 2003.
The piece was written by a lawyer by the name of Raymond D. Cotton, who specializes in presidential contracts and compensation matters. When you read the entire article, Mr. Cotton believes that more presidents' wives should be paid. The article talks about how trustees should move away from the notion of two for the price of one. The article interviews different ladies who serve as presidential wives across the country. They estimate their value between $120,000 and $200,000. Unfortunately, they are paid much less. The highest salary listed in the article is $75,000. We at OU decide that there would be an outcry if we paid the first lady half as much as we pay our sports coaches annually.
So we decide to pay her only $25,000. Yet and still, she appears on the front page of The (Cleveland)Plain Dealer. The first glimpse of the new first lady ... and the article is about her salary. I find it strange how Mrs. McDavis can make millions of dollars for the university, appear at countless programs and seminars representing the university, work hours and hours ... and she is to do it all for free. Let me ask you, do the editors really think that $25,000 is going to be a consistent drain on the financial resources of OU? Especially if she makes it back and then a whole lot more! She and Dr. McDavis are already pledging $8,000 to the Urban Scholars Program.
It's interesting to see how The Post editors fear this will set a dangerous precedent. The article written by Dr. Cotton hopes that this will become a precedent because of the extreme amount of sacrifice and hard work that accompanies being the wife of a university president. The article details how he thinks it is quite appropriate for university presidents' wives to receive a salary. It explains that oftentimes they give up their own career, as Mrs. McDavis did, to follow and assist their husbands. I say all this because I believe that Mrs. McDavis and President McDavis are both wonderful additions to the university. I believe they are going to do many things for this university that far exceed any salary we give them. In many respects, they are trailblazers in both the OU and Athens communities. I hope that this does become a precedent to show we appreciate the hard work and sacrifice first ladies make. Regardless of what The Post editors say, I think it's a great investment, and I wish Mrs. McDavis the best of luck.
-Will Tarter is a senior Or-Com major. Send him an e-mail at wt289101@ohiou.edu
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Will Tarter
