Spring Break
Guest Column
Matt Rascher
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Opinion
I am seriously considering changing my last name to Gonzalez. I know it may seem strange to do such a thing, but it looks like Sacramento State University has a soft spot, and an open wallet, for people with that last name. At least two people with that last name anyway, those two people being President Alexander Gonzalez and his son, Alexander Gonzalez Jr.
According to a 2007 state audit, when the elder Gonzalez was hired in 2003 he was accorded $65,000 in closing costs for his house, $19,000 for moving expenses, $27,000 for remodeling his kitchen and $233,000 in loans at a very low 1.697 percent interest rate to cover mortgage payments.
All of this was in addition to his salary and housing stipend which came out to $258,000 in 2003. By the year 2007 his salary had grown over 33 percent, bringing his yearly pay to $295,000 with a $60,000 housing stipend and a $12,000 car allowance.
The younger Gonzalez was hired at Sac State four years ago in a fundraising position. As of this July he has been transferred to the public affairs team taking charge of his father's Destination 2010 initiative.
This initiative is designed to make Sac State more of a traditional college campus rather than the commuter school it is now. According to an Oct. 8 article in the Sacramento Bee, Public Affairs Vice President Gloria Moraga said no nepotism was shown in this appointment because the elder Gonzalez had no involvement in hiring his son, nor is he supervising him in this position.
This position, however, was not advertised and no other interviews took place to find a candidate. That may not be nepotism, but it shouldn't be the way a business is run.
According to that same article, the younger Gonzalez is currently pursuing his master's degree at Sac State and making a gaudy salary of $83,940 a year - the same salary he made in his fundraising position. Any of us will be more than lucky to be making half that much when we graduate. Well, unless we're related to a certain school president.
The elder Gonzalez has shown us over the last six years he cares more about how our school looks, how it sells to potential investors and how much money he and his son will make rather than the success of the students.
What the Gonzalezes represent in the midst of our faculty cutbacks and rising student fees is an abhorrent symbol as to just what is wrong with Sac State: faculty, students and education come after architecture.
Part-time communication studies lecturer Shari LaForest Lasher echoes these sentiments: "I've been teaching on this campus since 2001. This is the most frustrating and discouraging environment I've experienced since that time. If we are truly a teaching institution, we seem to have lost our vision. Apparently, the university budget allows for new construction and large administrative salaries, but not enough to retain needed faculty." She goes on to say, "It is understandable that university budgets are complicated, but certainly monies should be allotted in a way that reflects the priorities of the institution."
The priorities are, and will always be, the student body and the faculty and staff who teach them. These faculty and staff members are being furloughed, which means they are being forced to take days off with no pay. These furlough days equal out to roughly a ten percent pay cut and missed days of class for the students. Students are now essentially paying more money for less education.
We are all being asked to tighten our belts in light of the current economic situation, but these cutbacks hurt the students far more than they hurt the administration. Sac State's No. 1 priority is supposed to be the success of the student, but with these fee raises and budget cuts students won't even get the chance to try and succeed.
I am currently taking 15 units, which turns out to be about $500 a class for a three-unit class. Just a semester ago, for the same amount of units, I was paying almost $600 less, or about $140 less per class without furloughs during the semester.
In the 2001-02 school year, fees were $943.50 for students taking more than six units. They have now more than doubled over the tenure of the elder Gonzalez while his salary has continued to grow.
A new sign next to the freeway doesn't teach me chemistry.
A new dorm doesn't show me how to solve algebraic equations.
Give our professors the pay they deserve and the students an education they can afford.
Matt Rascher
According to a 2007 state audit, when the elder Gonzalez was hired in 2003 he was accorded $65,000 in closing costs for his house, $19,000 for moving expenses, $27,000 for remodeling his kitchen and $233,000 in loans at a very low 1.697 percent interest rate to cover mortgage payments.
All of this was in addition to his salary and housing stipend which came out to $258,000 in 2003. By the year 2007 his salary had grown over 33 percent, bringing his yearly pay to $295,000 with a $60,000 housing stipend and a $12,000 car allowance.
The younger Gonzalez was hired at Sac State four years ago in a fundraising position. As of this July he has been transferred to the public affairs team taking charge of his father's Destination 2010 initiative.
This initiative is designed to make Sac State more of a traditional college campus rather than the commuter school it is now. According to an Oct. 8 article in the Sacramento Bee, Public Affairs Vice President Gloria Moraga said no nepotism was shown in this appointment because the elder Gonzalez had no involvement in hiring his son, nor is he supervising him in this position.
This position, however, was not advertised and no other interviews took place to find a candidate. That may not be nepotism, but it shouldn't be the way a business is run.
According to that same article, the younger Gonzalez is currently pursuing his master's degree at Sac State and making a gaudy salary of $83,940 a year - the same salary he made in his fundraising position. Any of us will be more than lucky to be making half that much when we graduate. Well, unless we're related to a certain school president.
The elder Gonzalez has shown us over the last six years he cares more about how our school looks, how it sells to potential investors and how much money he and his son will make rather than the success of the students.
What the Gonzalezes represent in the midst of our faculty cutbacks and rising student fees is an abhorrent symbol as to just what is wrong with Sac State: faculty, students and education come after architecture.
Part-time communication studies lecturer Shari LaForest Lasher echoes these sentiments: "I've been teaching on this campus since 2001. This is the most frustrating and discouraging environment I've experienced since that time. If we are truly a teaching institution, we seem to have lost our vision. Apparently, the university budget allows for new construction and large administrative salaries, but not enough to retain needed faculty." She goes on to say, "It is understandable that university budgets are complicated, but certainly monies should be allotted in a way that reflects the priorities of the institution."
The priorities are, and will always be, the student body and the faculty and staff who teach them. These faculty and staff members are being furloughed, which means they are being forced to take days off with no pay. These furlough days equal out to roughly a ten percent pay cut and missed days of class for the students. Students are now essentially paying more money for less education.
We are all being asked to tighten our belts in light of the current economic situation, but these cutbacks hurt the students far more than they hurt the administration. Sac State's No. 1 priority is supposed to be the success of the student, but with these fee raises and budget cuts students won't even get the chance to try and succeed.
I am currently taking 15 units, which turns out to be about $500 a class for a three-unit class. Just a semester ago, for the same amount of units, I was paying almost $600 less, or about $140 less per class without furloughs during the semester.
In the 2001-02 school year, fees were $943.50 for students taking more than six units. They have now more than doubled over the tenure of the elder Gonzalez while his salary has continued to grow.
A new sign next to the freeway doesn't teach me chemistry.
A new dorm doesn't show me how to solve algebraic equations.
Give our professors the pay they deserve and the students an education they can afford.
Matt Rascher
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Logan Stark
posted 11/16/09 @ 11:44 PM PST
Well said Mr. Rascher. I completely agree with everything you have said, and the same exact sentiments are echoed throughout all the CSU's im sure. It definitely is over here at Cal Poly. (Continued…)
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