Readers React: Colleges get the presidents they pay for

Here we have yet another commentary that is critical of top university administrators and the reliance on part-time faculty. I speak from experience when I say: find the best administrators and pay them well. (“As college presidents earn big bucks, students pay more and get less,” Opinion, May 29)

What I’ve seen on my campus is sheer genius on the part of top-level administrators. They have the savvy and resources to hire the best faculty. In my department alone, 20 brilliant permanent faculty have been hired in the last several years. This comes from the top. This monumentally enhances student education.

As for part-time faculty, some of them are the best teachers and a great asset to the university. One size does not fit all. Pay big bucks for the best, and that will monumentally enhance higher education.

Steven B. Oppenheimer

Northridge

The writer is director of the Cal State Northridge Center for Cancer and Developmental Biology.

The people who draw these huge amounts should not be said to be “earning” their money; rather, they are being paid these sums.

Ellen Nichols

Porterville, Calif.