Posts
links for 2009-07-10
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TBogg on David Frum: Back off Canadian-boy. Giving s--- to Mitt! is our job.
John Scalzi: It's not that humans are getting stupider, it's that people
inter...
41 minutes ago
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Friday, July 03, 2009
Travlin' in Style With the Putz
You would have had to have been asleep for the past several years not to know that Graham plays a washboard, which has suffered as much mission creep as the University has under him, in a local dixieland jazz band, The Deacons of Dixieland.
You may not know that the Deacons have preformed quite a bit in the South. For example, in 2002 they traveled to the W.C. Handy Festival in Florence Alabama. Here's a picture of their transportation to the festival that year.
Graham wasn't with them on that excursion, but in 2004 he made the trip to Florence for the festival. This time here's how some of the boys got home.
Notice a difference?
Gee, I hope Arne doesn't see this picture before he decides on whether Penn State deserves the stimulus money Rendell wants to deny the state-related schools. Remember the bad reaction to the mode of transportation that the GM executives used? Aaaaah... these sorts of appearances aren't good when you have your hand out Graham.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Deacons of Dixieland, W.C. Handy Awards, Spanier, private jet, Rendell, stimulus money, state-related universities
You may not know that the Deacons have preformed quite a bit in the South. For example, in 2002 they traveled to the W.C. Handy Festival in Florence Alabama. Here's a picture of their transportation to the festival that year.
Graham wasn't with them on that excursion, but in 2004 he made the trip to Florence for the festival. This time here's how some of the boys got home.
Notice a difference?
Gee, I hope Arne doesn't see this picture before he decides on whether Penn State deserves the stimulus money Rendell wants to deny the state-related schools. Remember the bad reaction to the mode of transportation that the GM executives used? Aaaaah... these sorts of appearances aren't good when you have your hand out Graham.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Deacons of Dixieland, W.C. Handy Awards, Spanier, private jet, Rendell, stimulus money, state-related universities
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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Devastating, Catastrophic, Nauseating
The effect of the proposed budget cuts on Penn State have been described as devastating and catastrophic. Today the Penn State Propaganda Portal finally responds to those cuts and I find the response nauseating.
As I noted in an earlier post, Governor Rendell does not consider Penn State, or the other state-related universities, to be fully public schools. Where might he get such an idea? Perhaps this is where he got it.
Here is Old Main's response to the Rendell agreement with Graham's argument that Penn State is private.
If Old Main wants the stimulus money, it should be willing to accept it with some heavy accountability strings attached.
This rank hypocrisy isn't the only nauseating thing about Old Main's response. Consider this paragraph.
Nauseating.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, stimulus funds, Rendell, Spanier, propaganda
As I noted in an earlier post, Governor Rendell does not consider Penn State, or the other state-related universities, to be fully public schools. Where might he get such an idea? Perhaps this is where he got it.
But we are very concerned about Right to Know legislation that would force the University to make information public that could undermine the operations of the university. There are dozens of examples of information that if made public could interfere with and undermine the quality of Penn State or erode privacyThat would be Graham arguing against being held accountable. In second paragraph, he argues that receiving funds from the Commonwealth does not distinguish Penn State as a public university, because many other unambiguously private schools also receive state funds. In the third paragraph he comes right out and says it: Penn State is not a state agency. Bottom line... Graham thinks Penn State is like Penn rather than like Lock Haven or the other state-owned universities. So he wants to be treated like Penn not Lock Haven. Fair enough.
Penn State and three other universities-University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, and Lincoln University--have been singled out for such intrusion. No other state-aided universities or private universities that receive appropriated funds are included in the legislation as drafted. These other universities receive tens of millions of dollars in state appropriation every year.
This proposal goes far beyond making Penn State accountable for how it spends public funds. Should such legislation pass, we would be treated as if we were part of state government, as if we were a state agency. We are not. We are a university that operates in a highly competitive environment. We are put at a competitive disadvantage when certain information must be revealed that is proprietary, or where such revelation would put us at a disadvantage.
Here is Old Main's response to the Rendell agreement with Graham's argument that Penn State is private.
In removing the state-related universities from eligibility for stabilization funds, Rendell has declared that they are not public universities, contrary to their missions and history of state support. Penn State is Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution and carries out multiple missions in service to the state and its citizens. Its character as a public institution has been supported by 154 years of history, legislative action and legal documents. The law providing the federal stimulus funds notes that the intent of the money is to shield students at colleges and universities supported by state tax dollars from unusually large tuition hikes due to fiscal pressures the economy is placing on state budgets.Whoa...come again. Penn State is public? Let's get this straight. When Old Main wants to dodge accountability, Penn State is private. When Old Main wants some government money, Penn State is public. What a bunch of crap.
If Old Main wants the stimulus money, it should be willing to accept it with some heavy accountability strings attached.
This rank hypocrisy isn't the only nauseating thing about Old Main's response. Consider this paragraph.
"While news of these proposed cuts is troubling, the discussion at this time is between the governor and the state Legislature, which must come to some agreement on a number of budget issues," said Penn State President Graham Spanier. "We realize the state is facing some serious fiscal challenges, but to cut funding for institutions like Penn State is really a step in the wrong direction."Now read this one.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Education, Spanier asks officials there to look closely at Pennsylvania's stimulus funding application and to examine its exclusion of Penn State from the funding formula.To paraphrase, look we understand things are tough in Harrisburg and we'll let you work things out between yourselves...and by the way, we telling Daddy....
Nauseating.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, stimulus funds, Rendell, Spanier, propaganda
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Something You Won't Read About on Penn State Live
Personally, I don't care about this at all. I think big time college football, even a relatively clean program like Penn State's, is a detriment to academics. But since you are unlikely to see this on the Penn State Propaganda Portal, I thought I'd, as a public service, bring it to your attention.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, football
Who likes cupcakes the most?
Among BCS conference football teams, it's Mississippi State, according to the Sporting News.
No. 2? Mighty Penn State, with fellow Big Ten member Indiana fifth among the Web site's rankings of the 10 worst non-conference schedules in 2009.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, football
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
Devastating
That's how the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette characterized Penn State Bullshit Artist Geoff Rushton's response to Rendell's proposed cuts to state-related universities. Old Main still has not outlined its options should the cut go through. They continue to hold out hope that they can twist arms in Harrisburg to get the money.
Pitt was a bit more willing to say what the consequences of the cut would be.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Pennslyvania budget, Penn State budget cut, tuition
"That proposed amount would certainly be a catastrophic cut to the university," Mr. Rushton said. "But at the same time, we anticipate that this will be resolved by [the Legislature and governor] over the coming months."
Pitt was a bit more willing to say what the consequences of the cut would be.
In a statement, Pitt said it was "stunned" by Mr. Rendell's moves and warned they would place "very significant new tuition burdens on tens of thousands of Pennsylvania students and their families."Whatever the response of these schools, Rendell has sent a clear message to the state-related schools: As long as he doesn't have some control over their spending, he does not consider them fully public universites. Could this funding problem be resolved by restructing the governance of the schools and would Spanier and the Board of Trustees be willing to go along with any restructuring? That's a question an enterprising reporter should ask Rendell and Spanier.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Pennslyvania budget, Penn State budget cut, tuition
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Friday, June 26, 2009
"Catastrophic"
Things have been quiet around Old Main this Spring and as I suggested at the end of this post, it maybe that the folks were hunkering down waiting to see what happens with the budget maneuvering in Harrisburg. With the July 1rst deadline looming, the state budget battle is heating up. Today Governor Rendell suggested a 13% cut to the Penn State budget which someone in the Old Main Propaganda Shop described as "catastrophic."
It is too soon to tell how things will play out in the budget negotiations, but it is now certainly nail biting time. What happens if the cuts go through? Will Old Main hike tuition more than the 4.5% that it suggested in March? ....more than the 5.5% it originally proposed? Or will Old Main begin to layoff staff and non-tenure track faculty? Will it halt infrastructure work? Certainly if the cut goes through we will see what type of leader Graham really is.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Pennsylvania budget, Penn State budget cut, tuition
It is too soon to tell how things will play out in the budget negotiations, but it is now certainly nail biting time. What happens if the cuts go through? Will Old Main hike tuition more than the 4.5% that it suggested in March? ....more than the 5.5% it originally proposed? Or will Old Main begin to layoff staff and non-tenure track faculty? Will it halt infrastructure work? Certainly if the cut goes through we will see what type of leader Graham really is.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Pennsylvania budget, Penn State budget cut, tuition
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A Binge of Drinking Posts
A new study of binge drinking at Washington University School of Medicine has found that following the raising of drinking age to 21 the rate of binge drinking in men has declined, but for women it has slightly increased. Here's the kicker,
Technorati Tags: alcohol abuse, Penn State, binge drinking
The biggest surprises involved differences between college students and men and women of the same age not enrolled in college. Binge drinking declined in young men, unless they were in college. It was up slightly in young women, but significantly higher in college women.This suggests that Penn State and other schools with drinking problems should look inward , not outward, when looking for the cause and solution to their drinking problems.
Among 18- to 20-year-old non-college men, binge drinking declined by more than 30% over the study period, whereas it was statistically unchanged among the men in college. For men ages 21 to 23, rates of binge drinking declined just more than 10 percent but remained virtually the same in those of the same age who attended college. In women ages 21 to 23, binge drinking increased about 20 percent among non-students, but the increase was more than 40 percent among women in college.
Technorati Tags: alcohol abuse, Penn State, binge drinking
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Monday, June 22, 2009
Putting a Liberal Arts Education to Humorous Use...
Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport
Technorati Tags: The Onion, humor
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Sunday, June 21, 2009
Yeah, We Have a COI Policy. No! Absolutely Not! We Can't Let People See It.... Don't Be Silly!
Last year Penn State refused to participate in an evaluation of conflict of interest policies at medical centers conducted by the American Medical Student Association. That earned Penn State a grade of an F on the rankings. Penn State participated this year and earned a B. That's pretty good. It's still not as good as University of Pittsburgh Medical Center or the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine each of which earned one of only 9 A's out of 150 ranked medical centers, but it's much better than the D which Temple University School of Medicine received.
Oddly, the Penn State Propaganda Portal hasn't seen fit to mention this just yet. Last year it was understandable that they didn't broadcast their failure. But a B is respectable, you'd think they'd spin this for all it's worth. Perhaps, they don't want to draw attention to fact that they are still in the shadow of Penn and Pitt or maybe the folks in Old Main are too preoccupied by the budget maneuvering in Harrisburg to be bothered with this. Who knows?
One final thing, which won't be a surprise to anyone who knows how Old Main operates, Penn State would not allow their conflict of interest policies to be published or quoted from by AMSA. It looks more and more like Graham and Dick Cheney are soulmates.
Technorati Tags: American Medical Student Association, conflict of interest, Penn State, Hershey Medical Center, UPMC, Penn Medical School
Oddly, the Penn State Propaganda Portal hasn't seen fit to mention this just yet. Last year it was understandable that they didn't broadcast their failure. But a B is respectable, you'd think they'd spin this for all it's worth. Perhaps, they don't want to draw attention to fact that they are still in the shadow of Penn and Pitt or maybe the folks in Old Main are too preoccupied by the budget maneuvering in Harrisburg to be bothered with this. Who knows?
One final thing, which won't be a surprise to anyone who knows how Old Main operates, Penn State would not allow their conflict of interest policies to be published or quoted from by AMSA. It looks more and more like Graham and Dick Cheney are soulmates.
Technorati Tags: American Medical Student Association, conflict of interest, Penn State, Hershey Medical Center, UPMC, Penn Medical School
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Saturday, June 20, 2009
Back From the Dead: The Return of Spinal Tap
Glue, cows, protons, anti-protons....the bond? Spinal Tap is back with a new album and a BBC interview.
Technorati Tags: Spinal Tap, humor
Technorati Tags: Spinal Tap, humor
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Putting the Stupid in Congress
A little over a week ago the GOP unveiled their new energy plan. Well, new's a little strong;it's built mostly on ideas recycled from Bush/Cheney administration.
Now to be fair, there is a new wrinkle in the plan. The GOP wants to make global warming denial the law of the land.
And our Congressman couldn't be prouder to be part of the GOP braintrust that came up with this garbage.
ing the stupid in Congress for over five months.
Technorati Tags: GOP energy plan, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5)
Now to be fair, there is a new wrinkle in the plan. The GOP wants to make global warming denial the law of the land.
And our Congressman couldn't be prouder to be part of the GOP braintrust that came up with this garbage.
U.S. Representative Glenn `GT’ Thompson, R-Howard, today joined other members of the GOP American Energy Solutions Working Group to introduce their alternative to the proposed Cap and Trade legislation.GT, helping to putt
“We have been criticizing strongly the `Cap and Tax’ program being considered. The next step is to propose a viable alternative—and today we do just that,” said Thompson.
Technorati Tags: GOP energy plan, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA5)
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
A Developing Story
It appears that an animal rights advocate may have provoked a Penn State research associate into making a veiled threat against her.fabricated a threat against her by a Penn State research associate. Well, at least that's my read. The alleged threat is supposed to have occurred on this Facebook discussion board. See if you can find it.
Of course, it may be possible for the original post, which contained the threat, to have been edited by its author or deleted by Facebook. Google Cache isn't any help in straightening this out. More investigation is needed.
The advocate is now demanding action from Graham.
Let's see if the CDT comes out of its stupor long enough to cover this story and get to the bottom of it.
Technorati Tags: Animal Rights, Penn State, Centre Daily Times
Of course, it may be possible for the original post, which contained the threat, to have been edited by its author or deleted by Facebook. Google Cache isn't any help in straightening this out. More investigation is needed.
The advocate is now demanding action from Graham.
Let's see if the CDT comes out of its stupor long enough to cover this story and get to the bottom of it.
Technorati Tags: Animal Rights, Penn State, Centre Daily Times
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Elevating a Debate From Comments...
I'm having a bit of a debate with reader MoralHazard in comments over my last post on the misleading headline. MoralHazard contends that the scientific evidence backs the Penn State Propaganda Portal's characterizations of the impact of parental tolerance of alcohol consumption by a child while they are living at home and that child's propensity to binge drink in college. I disagree, but I do think I should have been more careful in making my case. So here goes.....
I'll begin with the literature and then look at how it is characterized by the Propaganda Portal. In addition to the research by Caitlin Abar, Beau Abar, and Rob Turrisi, which is the main focus of the Propaganda Portal piece, two other studies are mentioned, one by Kristie Long Foley, D. Altman, R. Durant, and M. Wolfson and another by Kelli Komro, et. al.
MoralHarzard also cited a fourth study done in Sweden by Nicholos Koutakis, Haken Stattin and Margret Kerr.
Do these studies either individually or taken together support the assertion of the Old Main Propaganda Shop concerning college age binge drinking?
Here's what Komro et. al. found.
The Swedish study divided a group of 7th grade students (~13 years-old) into a control and treatment groups. Both groups were asked about their alcohol use. The the parents of the treatment group followed a program of conveying disapproval of drinking to their children. The control was not instructed to alter its behavior in anyway. The groups were followed for two years and surveyed again. It was found that alcohol use increased in both groups with time, but at a lower rate in the treatment group. The obvious flaw is that children who have been indoctrinated against alcohol use are likely to under report its use when surveyed. And once again this has nothing to do with binge drinking in college.
The Foley, et. al. study found that a child whose parents allowed them to drink unsupervised in high school was more likely to binge drink in college. It also found that a child who was allowed to drink with the family was less likely to binge drink in college.
The Abar, et. al. study didn't distinguish the social context in which parents allowed their children to drink and found that parental tolerance of a child's alcohol use in high school is associated with a higher likelihood of binge drinking in college.
Only the Foley, et. al. and Anbar et. al studies have any relevance to binge drinking in college.
Let's look at that Propaganda Portal piece once more. The headline, "Zero tolerance alcohol policy good choice for parents," ignores the Foley, et. al. finding that when children drink with family they are less likely to binge drink. Further, the Anbar, et al. study found that "the greater number of drinks that a parent had set as a limit for the teens, the more often they drank and got drunk in college," which suggest that there may be some safe, nonzero lower limit for the amount a child is permited to drink.
Then there's the lede.
Finally, there is this point, "there is no scientific basis to the common belief that prohibiting alcohol turns it into a 'forbidden fruit' and encourages abuse." What's the point,that there is no downside to zero tolerance? That can't be it, since the Foley, et al. study showed a positive effect for allowing alcohol consumption in a family setting on binge drinking.
Look, I'll admit this is a difficult problem and I'm not certain that Foley, et. al. is correct or that Anbar, et. al. is wrong. I consider the whole thing to be an open question right now, which is certainly deserving of more study. What bothers me is the Old Main Propaganda Shop trying to spin these preliminary findings to serve their own agenda.
So MoralHazard, what do you think? The comment section can feel a bit cramped. If you'd like to respond more fully email me and I put your response up as a post.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, alcohol abuse, propaganda
I'll begin with the literature and then look at how it is characterized by the Propaganda Portal. In addition to the research by Caitlin Abar, Beau Abar, and Rob Turrisi, which is the main focus of the Propaganda Portal piece, two other studies are mentioned, one by Kristie Long Foley, D. Altman, R. Durant, and M. Wolfson and another by Kelli Komro, et. al.
MoralHarzard also cited a fourth study done in Sweden by Nicholos Koutakis, Haken Stattin and Margret Kerr.
Do these studies either individually or taken together support the assertion of the Old Main Propaganda Shop concerning college age binge drinking?
Here's what Komro et. al. found.
Student report, at age 12, of parental provision of alcohol and home alcohol availability, and parental report of providing alcohol to their child and the accessibility of alcohol in the home, were associated with significant increases in the trajectories of young adolescent alcohol use and intentions from ages 12-14 years. Student report of receiving alcohol from their parent or taking it from home during their last drinking occasion were the most robust predictors of increases in alcohol use and intentions over time.There's a whole lot of hedging going on. Note that no distinction is made as a predictor between "parental provision" and "home alcohol availability", nor was any distinction made between "alcohol use" and "intention" as a response. So on the one hand, having alcohol setting around the house could cause a kid to plan on drinking or a parent giving a kid alcohol could result in the kid drinking alcohol. Or one of the other two combinations my be at play. This is just about worthless. And further, it has nothing to do with binge drinking in college.
The Swedish study divided a group of 7th grade students (~13 years-old) into a control and treatment groups. Both groups were asked about their alcohol use. The the parents of the treatment group followed a program of conveying disapproval of drinking to their children. The control was not instructed to alter its behavior in anyway. The groups were followed for two years and surveyed again. It was found that alcohol use increased in both groups with time, but at a lower rate in the treatment group. The obvious flaw is that children who have been indoctrinated against alcohol use are likely to under report its use when surveyed. And once again this has nothing to do with binge drinking in college.
The Foley, et. al. study found that a child whose parents allowed them to drink unsupervised in high school was more likely to binge drink in college. It also found that a child who was allowed to drink with the family was less likely to binge drink in college.
The Abar, et. al. study didn't distinguish the social context in which parents allowed their children to drink and found that parental tolerance of a child's alcohol use in high school is associated with a higher likelihood of binge drinking in college.
Only the Foley, et. al. and Anbar et. al studies have any relevance to binge drinking in college.
Let's look at that Propaganda Portal piece once more. The headline, "Zero tolerance alcohol policy good choice for parents," ignores the Foley, et. al. finding that when children drink with family they are less likely to binge drink. Further, the Anbar, et al. study found that "the greater number of drinks that a parent had set as a limit for the teens, the more often they drank and got drunk in college," which suggest that there may be some safe, nonzero lower limit for the amount a child is permited to drink.
Then there's the lede.
Restaurants in Germany legally sell alcohol to teenagers after their 16th birthdays and French children drink wine with dinner at an early age, but U.S. parents who follow this relaxed European example, believing it fosters a healthier attitude toward alcohol, should be careful — it may increase the likelihood that their children binge drink in college.This is in direct contradiction to the Foley, et. al. finding, which is that the relaxed European example of drinking with family reduces the likelihood of binge drinking. The Anbar, et. al. study does not contradict the earlier study, since it doesn't account for social context.
Finally, there is this point, "there is no scientific basis to the common belief that prohibiting alcohol turns it into a 'forbidden fruit' and encourages abuse." What's the point,that there is no downside to zero tolerance? That can't be it, since the Foley, et al. study showed a positive effect for allowing alcohol consumption in a family setting on binge drinking.
Look, I'll admit this is a difficult problem and I'm not certain that Foley, et. al. is correct or that Anbar, et. al. is wrong. I consider the whole thing to be an open question right now, which is certainly deserving of more study. What bothers me is the Old Main Propaganda Shop trying to spin these preliminary findings to serve their own agenda.
So MoralHazard, what do you think? The comment section can feel a bit cramped. If you'd like to respond more fully email me and I put your response up as a post.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, alcohol abuse, propaganda
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Misleading Headline
Zero tolerance alcohol policy good choice for parents
That's the headline the Penn State Propaganda Portal put on an article about research done at Penn State on the connection between a parent's tolerance of underage drinking when the their child is living at home and the child's likelihood of binge drinking as a college freshman. The researchers surveyed nearly 300 college freshman who
There seems to be a bit of character problem in Old Main.
That's the headline the Penn State Propaganda Portal put on an article about research done at Penn State on the connection between a parent's tolerance of underage drinking when the their child is living at home and the child's likelihood of binge drinking as a college freshman. The researchers surveyed nearly 300 college freshman who
... related their drinking habits to their parents' modeling and permissibility of alcohol use. Those students whose parents did not permit them to drink underage — about half of the group — were significantly less likely to drink heavily in college, regardless of gender. In addition, "the greater number of drinks that a parent had set as a limit for the teens, the more often they drank and got drunk in college," said Abar. Whether the parents themselves drank, on the other hand, appeared to have little effect on predicting their children's behaviors when accounting for the permissibility they exhibited toward teen alcohol use.Why did the folks in the Old Main Propaganda Shop decide to charaterize this study as suggesting that
Further research is needed to confirm the preliminary study, said [lead investigator] Abar. For one thing, she did not separate students who specifically drank with their parents at meals from those whose parents allowed their children to drink both inside and outside of the house.
A previous study in 2004 by Kristie Foley, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, North Carolina, showed that teenagers who received alcohol from their parents for parties were up to three times more likely to binge drink within a month, while those who drank only with the family were less likely to binge. So the context in which a parent provides alcohol may be key.
...there is no scientific basis to the common belief that prohibiting alcohol turns it into a "forbidden fruit" and encourages abuse[,]when the earlier, better designed study did provide a scientific basis for the the common belief? And why did they use a misleading headline? My guess is that it is part and parcel of Old Main's general policy of shifting of responsibility for Penn State's alcohol abuse problem from the University to anyone else. Bars have been the typical target of Old Main's finger pointing, but this isn't the first time Old Main has suggested that the problem starts at home.
There seems to be a bit of character problem in Old Main.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, propaganda, alcohol abuse
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Friday, June 12, 2009
Penn State Compensation and Salary Data: Performance Bonuses
For several of the individuals in Penn State Right-To-Know Report 2009 both salary and compensation data is reported. Hence one can get an idea of their performance bonuses.
All of the officers of the University received current compensation only in the form of salary with the exception of Harold Paz, CEO of Hershey Medical Center. Hence none of the officers, with the exception of Paz, were paid any bonuses in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. In fact, the only ones that received current compensation other than salary were coaches or doctors.
Don't feel sorry for Graham. While he only received a salary, he is listed as having received $206,035 in contributions to benefits and deferred compensation plans. This is the largest amount, by far, that anyone got. Most individual received amounts in the $30K range . Hence, it's a fair bet that Graham's performance bonuses came in the form of deferred compensation. It would be very interesting to know what benchmarks Graham had to meet to get any bonus. That would give us some idea of the true priorities of the Board of Trustees.
Paz received $755,996 in current compensation of which $630,000 was in salary. He received and additional $126,808 in benefits and deferred compensation. Hence it appears that his bonuses in total approached Graham's numbers.
All of the five highest compensated individuals received some compensation in addition to salary. JoePa's total compensation was $1,037,322 on a base salary of $527,748. His benefits and deferred compensation weren't anything unusual. So doesn't look like Joe took his bonus money in deferred compensation. I'd say that's a wise move for an 82 year old. By the way, I wonder how big a bonus he got for keeping his team mostly out of trouble this year.
Head Men's Basketball Coach Ed Dechellis had total compensation of $632,283 on a base salary of less than $382,464. We don't know his actual base salary, but he didn't make the list of top 25 salaries, so we can be sure that his base salary is less than the smallest salary in the list. He doesn't appear to have taken any deferred compensation. Next year's report will give us some idea of how much a winning season is worth for Dechellis.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Paterno, Dechellis, salaries, bonuses, Spanier, Right-To-Know
All of the officers of the University received current compensation only in the form of salary with the exception of Harold Paz, CEO of Hershey Medical Center. Hence none of the officers, with the exception of Paz, were paid any bonuses in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. In fact, the only ones that received current compensation other than salary were coaches or doctors.
Don't feel sorry for Graham. While he only received a salary, he is listed as having received $206,035 in contributions to benefits and deferred compensation plans. This is the largest amount, by far, that anyone got. Most individual received amounts in the $30K range . Hence, it's a fair bet that Graham's performance bonuses came in the form of deferred compensation. It would be very interesting to know what benchmarks Graham had to meet to get any bonus. That would give us some idea of the true priorities of the Board of Trustees.
Paz received $755,996 in current compensation of which $630,000 was in salary. He received and additional $126,808 in benefits and deferred compensation. Hence it appears that his bonuses in total approached Graham's numbers.
All of the five highest compensated individuals received some compensation in addition to salary. JoePa's total compensation was $1,037,322 on a base salary of $527,748. His benefits and deferred compensation weren't anything unusual. So doesn't look like Joe took his bonus money in deferred compensation. I'd say that's a wise move for an 82 year old. By the way, I wonder how big a bonus he got for keeping his team mostly out of trouble this year.
Head Men's Basketball Coach Ed Dechellis had total compensation of $632,283 on a base salary of less than $382,464. We don't know his actual base salary, but he didn't make the list of top 25 salaries, so we can be sure that his base salary is less than the smallest salary in the list. He doesn't appear to have taken any deferred compensation. Next year's report will give us some idea of how much a winning season is worth for Dechellis.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Paterno, Dechellis, salaries, bonuses, Spanier, Right-To-Know
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Penn State Compensation and Salary Data: Gender
One thing that jumped out at me as I was putting together the tables in my last post is that only two women appear in any of the list.
Eva Pell, Vice president for Research, is the only female officer of the University and her salary of $256,400, which is her total compensation, is smaller than the smallest salary, $382,464, on the list of top 25 salaries.
The only other woman is Kathleen Eggli, Chair of the Department of Radiology, who makes the list of top 25 salaries at number 10 with a salary of $478,522.
Is this evidence of a gender bias at Penn State? That's a tough question to answer and this data is insufficient to answer it. Many factors go into determining how much someone is paid and they must be accounted for before any conclusion can be made. However, the near total absence of women does demand that a closer look be taken.
In fact, one woman at at Hershey is demanding just such a look be taken.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Gender Discrimation, lawsuit, Right-To-Know
Eva Pell, Vice president for Research, is the only female officer of the University and her salary of $256,400, which is her total compensation, is smaller than the smallest salary, $382,464, on the list of top 25 salaries.
The only other woman is Kathleen Eggli, Chair of the Department of Radiology, who makes the list of top 25 salaries at number 10 with a salary of $478,522.
Is this evidence of a gender bias at Penn State? That's a tough question to answer and this data is insufficient to answer it. Many factors go into determining how much someone is paid and they must be accounted for before any conclusion can be made. However, the near total absence of women does demand that a closer look be taken.
In fact, one woman at at Hershey is demanding just such a look be taken.
Technorati Tags: Penn State, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Gender Discrimation, lawsuit, Right-To-Know
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Penn State Right-To-Know Report 2009: Salary and Compensation Data
OK, I've avoided a discussion of the salary and compensation data in the Penn State Right-To-Know Report. The only part of the report which truly contains significant new information and the part in which everyone else has been interested. Well, I'm ready to put my own two cents worth in, but in separate posts. This post contains only the data itself for fiscal year 2007-2008.
Technorati Tags: Penn State Salaries, Penn State, Right-To-Know
| Name | Title | Compensation/ Salary | Contributions to Employee Benefits & Deferred Compensation Plan | Expense Accounts & Other Allowances |
| Joe Paterno | Head Football Coach | $1,037,322/ $527/748 | $28,108 | $34,338 |
| Robert Harbaugh | Chair Dept. of Neurosurgery | $789,492/ $672,386 | $36,129 | $0 |
| Alan Brechbill | Exec. Dir. MSHMC | $668,448/ $514.964 | $31,339 | $80,263 |
| Ed Dechellis | Head Basketball Coach | $642,366/ <$382,464 | $28,341 | $5,495 |
| Peter Dillon | Chair Dept. of Surgery | $632,283/ $527,284 | $30,931 | $0 |
Table 1. Compensation and Salary of the Five Highest Paid Non-officers (pp. 29, 32 RTK Report)
| Name | Title | Compensation/ Salary | Contributions to Employee Benefits & Deferred Compensation Plan | Expense Accounts & Other Allowances |
| Graham Spanier | President | $590,004/ $590,004 | $206,035 | $32,640 |
| Rodney Erickson | Exec. VP & Provost | $400,008/ $400,008 | $33,731 | $7,381 |
| Rod Kirsch | Sr VP Development | $320,004/ $320,004 | $32,752 | $6,783 |
| Harold Paz | CEO HMC | $755,996/ $630,000 | $126,808 | $125,149 |
| Eva Pell | Sr VP Research | $256,400/ $256,400 | $40,381 | $10,409 |
| Gary Schultz | Sr. VP Finance | $400,008/ $400,008 | $31,931 | $11,195 |
Table 2. Compensation and Salary of Officers (pp. 28, 31 RTK Report)
| Name | Title | Salary |
| Robert Harbaugh | Chair Department of Neurosurgery | $672,386 |
| John Myers | Staff Physician Pediatric Surgery | $578,928 |
| Joe Paterno | Head Football Coach | $527,748 |
| Peter Dillon | Chair Dept. of Surgery | $527,284 |
| Jonas Sheehan | Staff Physician Neurosurgery | $525,012 |
| Carlo de Luna | Staff Physician Neurosurgery | $525,012 |
| Kevin Black | Chair Orthopaedics/ Rehabilitation | $520,478 |
| Alan Brechbill | Executive Director MSHMC | $514,964 |
| John Reid | Staff Physician Orthopaedics | $510,015 |
| Kathleen Eggli | Chair Department of Radiology | $478,522 |
| Mario Gonzalez | Staff Physician Electrophysiology | $460,030 |
| Akash Agarwal | Staff Physician Neurosurgery | $458,361 |
| David Goodspeed | Staff Physician Orthopaedics | $458,038 |
| Thomas Terndrup | Chair Emergency Medicine | $457,493 |
| Berend Mets | Chair Department of Anesthesiology | $446,177 |
| David Quillen | Chair Department of Ophthamology | $438,335 |
| Thomas Loughran | Director of Penn State Cancer Institute | $430,743 |
| John Repke | Chair Obstetrics/ Gynecology | $425,917 |
| Kevin Cockroft | Staff Physician Neurosurgery | $420,010 |
| Henry Wagner | Staff Physician Radiation Oncology | $412,012 |
| Walter Koltun | Staff Physician Colorectal Surgery | $410,025 |
| Ross Decter | Staff Physican Urology | $400,020 |
| Walter Pae | Staff Physician Surgery | $400,020 |
| Robert Aber | Chair Department of Medicine | $393,447 |
| Lawrence Sinoway | Director Penn State Heart & Vascular Institute | $382,464 |
Table 3. Top 25 Salaries to non-officers (p. 32 RTK Report)
Technorati Tags: Penn State Salaries, Penn State, Right-To-Know
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