At UMass Boston, hires come with political connections – writes Laura Krantz in the Globe, on the 4th of July.
I think state college education should be free – this is what Bernie Sanders advocated in his campaign – but achieving that would be difficult when our state colleges hire the politically connected (even when running a deficit and a hiring freeze).
What is the solution to this? Something must be broken in the competitive hiring process if this happens.
Please share widely!
What must be broken?
UMass is a large institution, with relationships with the public sector, the non-profit sector, and the government sector. Long-time Beacon Hillers have developed a long list of connections and a long list of skills that are appropriate for some UMass administrative roles.
I’m not arguing that every UMass hire was the right one, at the right salary. I am arguing that I would fully expect some former public servants — elected or appointed — to be interested in serving the public through the state university system.
P.S. There is a problem with our state pension system over-emphasizing the highest three years of consecutive service — it can end up with some perverse ladder climbing activities that create inappropriate churn. Even expanding it to highest five years might be a nice change — it reduces the collective incentive to provide those late-career significant salary bumps that can raise eyebrows.
Yeah, a couple of things that complicate the narrative. First, as stomv says, there are a number of Beacon Hill vets who probably really are the best qualified for some of those positions. Some maybe less so. The Kennedy School at Harvard recycles out-of-power pols, too. There sure are a lot of positions in “relations” of various kinds, which is a little sketch …
The article mentions UMB public policy school head David Cash, for instance, who makes some $220k — really good money. But he’s definitely qualified.
Some of the academic jobs seem overpaid. I don’t know what the general market looks like, but I gather that’s an education-sector-wide problem, not just UMass. But the other part is that legislators seem *underpaid* — if they treat it as a full-time job. (Some do, some don’t.) You’d have to view them as being very well-paid for a part-time gig, or underpaid for full-time.
Anyway you’d have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis for whether these folks are useful, or qualified, or properly compensated. Article needs follow-up. What is all that “relations” work that needs to be so well compensated?
“The Boston campus is expected to run a $10 million deficit this year, down from an original projection of around $30 million, according to UMass officials. Administrators instituted a hiring freeze in November but overall have hired at least 29 people since then.”
So, how does this work? Hiring freeze for some, but not for others?
Sannicandro, 61, was hired after the freeze, but according to the university his salary is funded entirely by outside grants received by the institute he now runs [the Institute for Community Inclusion]. To address its deficit, the campus has canceled classes, offered employee buyouts, and laid off some adjunct professors. It reduced the frequency of the student shuttle from the MBTA stop to campus and told departments to cut back on photocopying.
As usual, the students suffer, their classes are cut, their fees go up – but more politically connected administrators are hired. Nobody lost his job or moved out to another job when Mr. Sannicandro was hired: “The ICI’s current director, William E. Kiernan, will remain at UMass Boston in his role as the dean of the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development.”
I’m missing a connection. Are you arguing that tuition isn’t free because too many Beacon Hill insiders make too much, and that is protected by their friends in the legislature?
If funds are misused, it is difficult to increase funding to cover real needs.
I’ll offer a micro-example from my own experience that, to me, exemplifies a dysfunctional cultural attitude of the U-MA system towards the rest of us.
My son attended UMB several years ago. We were required to provide evidence of insurance in order for him to waive his exorbitantly expensive UMB medical insurance. We did so.
UMB required that he receive immunizations, because they were not happy with the documentation forwarded from his primary care provider. He gave them his BCBS card, and they acknowledged that in writing. They, nevertheless, did not bill BCBS and instead billed him/us. I disputed it, and each time I talked to the Bursar’s office at UMB I was told “we agree, you’re right, you can ignore this bill. We’ll take care of it”.
He left UMB, and two years later (in 2015) was admitted to UMA-Amherst. I got yet another bill for these vaccinations. I finally just paid it, because he could not register at UMA-Amherst with this outstanding bill from UMB.
Now, in 2017, UM-Amherst needs documentation of his vaccination record. They cannot simply get it from UMB. UMB will not forward the records at my request — they cite HIPAA requirements (of course, those requirements don’t stop either institution from billing me). They say my son must provide a written request for the records in order for them to release them.
This is the behavior of an institution that is far more interested in collecting predatory charges from students than actually doing anything positive. I’m reminded of the ways that BoA or Citizens preys on young people with service charges, overdraft charges, etc.
My son and I are reasonably able to understand and fight such behavior, and even we end up paying more than we should. I can only imagine what happens to less fortunate young men and women.
I think we have a cultural issue with our public higher-education system. The institution certainly appears to reflect the misplaced values and priorities of too many of our state legislators.
I don’t necessarily agree with the assertion that something “must be broken in the competitive hiring process”. While I agree with Mr. Sanders that public education should be publicly funded (like public elementary and secondary schools), I think that is a final rather than initial step.
I suggest that the first step is change the values and priorities that drive public post-secondary education in Massachusetts, so that the needs of our young people come first, rather than last.
In other news, “the University of Massachusetts Boston will close a day-care center that serves the children of faculty and students along with poor families in Dorchester and South Boston“..
But money for politically connected hires is aplenty.