Raymond Burse, interim president of Kentucky State University, elected to have his salary decreased from $349,869 to $259,745 in order to boost the paychecks of the university’s lowest-paid workers, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Burse’s pay cut will increase the salaries of 24 KSU employees, some of whom were making as littles as $7.25 an hour, to $10.25 an hour, WLKY reported. Burse said that his giving up $90,124.96 is a response to “tough times” and wanting to ensure that university workers know the school’s board and president “care about them and want to do the very best by them,” according to the Herald-Leader.
Burse has experience dealing with KSU employees — he served as KSU president from 1982 to 1989, according to KY Forward. After his presidency, Burse held an executive position at General Electric Co. He retired in 2012 after 17 years with good benefits, the Herald-Leader reported.
For all of his Good Samaritanism, Burse wants to make clear that his pay cut is not a poke at other university presidents to follow suit, according to the Herald-Leader.
Burse said, “I was in a position where I could do that,” and he recognizes that his decision is one that many people aren’t able to make.
Source: Huffington Post
It made me so happy to read this. It just shows that there are some great people around.
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Same for us too! 🙂 So heart-warming to see those who have, sharing with those who have less/none.
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What an impressive gesture…I hope it catches on…h x
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This is excellent. Before I retired, I was aware of some colleges that have paying at least a living wage baked into their compensation philosophy. On the flip side, I am also aware of some college Presidents who are empire builders and are paid well along with all kinds of perquisites. This President understands.
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What an inspiring story! We need some corporate CEO’s to do this to help their lowest-paid workers (or to keep from having to lay workers off).
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Reblogged this on Sally Ember, Ed.D. and commented:
Every #overpaidCEO/President should follow Raymond Burse’s example. We’d all be better off and the economy would BOOM!
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