Editorial: Officials should give bonuses back in full

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg’s salary stands at $460,000 this year. Pitt implemented a pay freeze on University employees, including Nordenberg for fiscal 2009. Nordenberg’s contract still calls for a $75,000 bonus this year for staying at Pitt for another year, but Nordenberg isn’t rushing to the bank with that paycheck. He’s donating the bonus money back to Pitt — well part of it, at least.

Likewise, Provost James V. Maher is set to receive a $50,000 bonus, along with a few other Pitt officials, and also plans to give bonus money back to Pitt, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. But for the payback to be truly noteworthy, we hope the officials will give back their bonuses in full.

It’s no secret that Pitt is facing financial troubles.

Gov. Ed Rendell recently decided to exclude Pitt and the other state-related schools from the Pennsylvania stimulus application because they are “not under the absolute control of the commonwealth,” according to the application. This ostracism, along with other decreases in state aid, would cost Pitt more than $30 million, Nordenberg said in a statement last week. Rendell originally sought about $42 million in stimulus money for the four state-related schools.

Given all the money Pitt generates and spends, Nordenberg’s and Maher’s bonuses might seem negligible at first.

The money from the two officials is meant to pay for student scholarships.

Pitt’s tuition might well increase, given the economic quarrelling between the University and the state. While the combined bonuses could aid a number of students, tuition hikes might stifle their overall effects.

Yet, we’d be sharply unappreciative to mock the officials’ repayments. Their contributions won’t alleviate tuition woes on a large-scale nor will they magically settle Pitt’s economic problems. Sure, every bit helps, but more importantly, it shows Pitt officials are willing to take concrete steps to give Pitt more money.

Despite the pay freeze, the officials could have kept their bonuses. Did they feel required to aid the University? Perhaps. But this also could be a sign of generosity. While the University didn’t disclose how much of the bonuses the officials will give back, we hope Nordenberg and Maher will pay back the full amount of their bonuses. Of course, this would mean more money for Pitt, but even more, it would maximize the action’s effectiveness and appeal.

Again, any amount would be appreciated. But somehow donating $50,000 — a hypothetical figure — compared to the full $75,000 seems an arbitrary distinction.

Where would the officials draw the line between how much they should give back and how much they should keep? Instead of trying to find a balance, it’s best they give it all back.

With the University particularly cash-strapped, it would be difficult for the officials to justify an appropriate amount to keep for themselves.

Nordenberg has donated bonus funds back to the University in the past, and this certainly isn’t the time to discontinue what seems a tradition of sorts.

While Pitt is amid a possibly unprecedented financial struggle, now’s the time for the bonus-bearing officials to demonstrate their commitment to the University to the full degree.