So while my department has had our budget cut every year of the last 5 even as we are given more work to do, had layoffs, had cost of living increases that do not keep up with inflation, the top of the food chain gets 40% raises? I'm constantly being told that we need to do more with less and find ways to cut costs, and this is why? Disgusting.

This is utterly outrageous and a complete waste of Penn's resources. Gutmann may have helped increase the endowment, but she is unpopular with students (as any undergrad will tell you) and does not deserve this money. Even if she did, more than a million dollars annually is FAR too much for any university president.

this is nauseating. The rest of the economy is in a downturn, people are losing jobs, working harder than ever and lucky if they get ANY increase, and Gutmann gets a pay hike like that?? What are the trustees thinking??!! I do a great job too, but never in my wildest dreams would I get a raise like that. Penn should look to itself to set an example of not being indulgent of its president when so many students and families are doing without to enable their Penn education. And how much is tuition for 08/09??!! Unbelievable...

Gutmann speech at this year's commencement was like all of her others: whiny, cliche, and unoriginal. It's a good thing that her salary is tied to fund raising and not her ability to motivate students.

These are the same people who tell all of the departments on campus, "we have no money to give"...it's the same song every year, and every year as we struggle to feed are families we are givin the scraps from Gutman's table. 3 percent, thats all.....the cost of living is 9 percent this year. But it's okay we know you need the million plus dollars, free housing, free transport/Limo, no gas, no insurance, a maid and a cook. We are your "surfs" please throw us your shit from your toilet so we can eat.

Give me a break... all of the university staff who are commenting on this are missing the point. Yes, Gutman's raise was large. Yes, most departments/employees at Penn aren't in nearly the same financial situation. But its apples and oranges. Losing Gutman at this point would mean a huge hit on our fundraising abilities; losing one employee (as important as they are as a group) would not have nearly the same impact. And it's serfs.

I am a human being, Gutman you are not.

...and we wonder why the Cost of Attendance for Wharton grad school is up past $72,000 a year?

Another example of why we need a Sarbanes-Oxley act for non-profits. Penn has a rubber stamp board of trustees who is negligent in their oversight of the University, while faculty, staff, and students suffer with more and more cutbacks. You can't ask everyone else to take cuts when your invisible, inaccessible, and indifferent University President is making a salary that is completely inappropriate for a non-profit organization!

Maybe she can put this money toward public speaking lessons - she needs some serious help in that area. But "student" has a point - this discussion is being obscured by passion. Think about the reality of the situation and it all makes sense.

I think donors should reevaluate where their money can be put to the best use. They can give to Penn, where the money will either be hoarded away in the endowment or paid out to inept administrators. Alternatively they can give to less wealthy institutions where the money will be used for education or research. The fact that there wasn't a blip in fund raising indicates that fund raising is not particularly dependent on the president's office. Amy's salary is ridiculously bloated for a non-profit, and Penn should be investigated by the IRS.

[QUOTE id="a86698d9-f7a6-4fb1-a972-8d23d2672ba7"]Maybe she can put this money toward public speaking lessons - she needs some serious help in that area. But "student" has a point - this discussion is being obscured by passion. Think about the reality of the situation and it all makes sense.[/QUOTE] Since students bitching about it isn't going to change things for the better or worse, what difference does this "passion" make? I suppose it makes sense in terms of rewarding a president who helps bring beaucoup bucks to the University, but it's obviously more than she could ever need and so it makes it fucking hilarious when the university tells students or departments that they're working with such limited resources. Essentially, every time Penn decides to cut back on departments' funding or tell a student on fin. aid that the university has only so much money, that DOES NOT make sense in comparison with the fact the U. can afford to give Gutmann so much (and coaches, etc.) I understand you're trying to be the voice of reason, but there is no reason in this. It's just the love of money, and a university caring more about its appeal and endowment size than using that endowment for quality education and research.

I have to agree that this salary is unwarranted. When Judith Rodin was President, her salary was ranked near the highest of any major univerisity President. She, however, was beloved by the undergrads, attended sporting events and theatre, and was quite visible in the community. From what I have scene, this is not the case with President Gutmann. She should try to set an example in a time when it is becoming more and more difficult for middle class families to send their children to schools like Penn without accruing debilitating loan debt.

Dear Dr. Gutmann Since you obviously received just about everyone's pay increase may I borrow a few dollars from you for the following: Office supplies- y'know just the basics so if we need something we won't feel like old mother hubbard going to the bare cupboard. A fair COLA increase: I mean if inflation is at or around 9% and some places here are lucky if they get 1/3rd of that maybe we can continue to try and do better for our familes. Or can we stay at your house since gas is high and getting higher every day along with food. You don't mind do you? Oh and we like apricot preserves, not grape on our toast. Better office space for some departments: Threadbare carpets, folks working on top of each other because there is no room but because the departments budgets are so tight, you can't afford to move. That is so much fun, you ought to try it sometime. In your new plan for the largest fundraising effort ever for Penn where did the staff figure in on that? Think what you want but the staff are the ones that keep it clean, process tuition, help the students and faculty, makes sure your benefits are in place, pays the bills, hires the workers, maintains the infrastructure of the campus,runs the programs, basically keeps the place running. But we constantly get told to do less is more...now I see why. Amy, you need a Gut-CHECK!

Amy Gutmann doesn't need a paycheck, she needs a reality check: her salary is completely out of line for the President of a non-profit. Her greed and selfishness is an embarrassment and she should hang her head in shame! I hope the IRS investigates her and Penn for waste, fraud, and abuse.

[QUOTE id="18f23269-40de-4e18-9115-669494ad6335"]Give me a break... all of the university staff who are commenting on this are missing the point. Yes, Gutman's raise was large. Yes, most departments/employees at Penn aren't in nearly the same financial situation. But its apples and oranges. Losing Gutman at this point would mean a huge hit on our fundraising abilities; losing one employee (as important as they are as a group) would not have nearly the same impact. And it's serfs.[/QUOTE] Another student with no job and no experience in the real world who thinks s/he knows it all. When you have to work a real job to make ends meet, instead of living off mommy and daddy, you will stop making excuses for overpaid executives who think they are more important than they really are.

Complaints about the President's hefty salary increase are inane and short-sighted. Penn's last two presidents have done more for Penn's burning for prestige and money than anyone else in the last 200 (well, maybe Provost Harrison a hundred years ago was an equal). They deserve big bucks for tremendous performance. It's the American way of doing things.

Dear Penn, Until you stop doing stuff like this and stop raising tuition at 2x-3x the rate of inflation, please do not attempt to get money from my wallet. It ain't happening until you find your values. Cheers, Penn '07

In a book called "The Perennial Philadelphians" (written in the 1950's) Penn was described as rich, old and distinguished; indeed, a place of serious scholarship. But somehow it had developed a sense of having been cheated. This apparently can be traced back to the loss of the national capital to Washington, as well as the dispute between Provost Smith and Benjamin Franklin. Amazingly, there is not a university in the world with as close a connection to one of the seminal events of Western civilization- namely, the drafting of the United States Constitution. At what point Penn is going to simply get over it and allow itself to pay talented people a lot of money to make it a place of even more serious scholarship is very uncertain. But this whining really has to stop.

[QUOTE id="6345c8bd-3f7e-43d3-bdc4-c3a8f40dc043"]In a book called "The Perennial Philadelphians" (written in the 1950's) Penn was described as rich, old and distinguished; indeed, a place of serious scholarship. But somehow it had developed a sense of having been cheated. This apparently can be traced back to the loss of the national capital to Washington, as well as the dispute between Provost Smith and Benjamin Franklin. Amazingly, there is not a university in the world with as close a connection to one of the seminal events of Western civilization- namely, the drafting of the United States Constitution. At what point Penn is going to simply get over it and allow itself to pay talented people a lot of money to make it a place of even more serious scholarship is very uncertain. But this whining really has to stop.[/QUOTE] Read that message again and then focus in on the last two sentences. That may be the greatest non sequitur in the history of the world! At what point will you make a serious argument as to why she needs to be paid that much, and not just dismiss all criticism as merely an archaic desire to hold the university back? At what point will you learn how to reason?

nothing worse then trying to sound witty when you're not, it's "serfs"....

I am continuously amazed at how ruthless people affiliated with Penn are when they speak in the comment section. It is easy to anonymously tear down a high figure like Gutmann, but realize that it is not her, but rather the insecurity of the Penn community that has led to this. Penn as a whole, despite being one of the best universities in the world, feels inferior to its peers (hyp), for we look to our peers to gage our own success, rather than the entire body of higher institutions. When Harvard had a vacancy for president a year ago, the Penn community was up in arms, afraid that dear Gutmann would abandon us for Harvard. Feeling insecure about this possibility, Penn upped Amy's salary to insure her place at Penn. So no, do not blame Amy for this questionable raise; blame your own unnecessary insecurity with Penn's place among its peers.

I think it is self-evident that raising large sums of money is important for Penn and that talent in this arena commands a high salary. The occasional tendency at Penn (and I believe this includes Philadelphia generally) is that that high salaries are often begrudged. I am sure there are plenty of examples of unfairness in the process of offering handsome compensation, but one doesn't have to engage in a process of "reasoning" to deduce the validity that real talent expects and deserves it. If one is so inclined, one can perform an experiment which proves that by not feeding an animal it will grow thin and eventually expire. But is it really necessary?

Average Penn staff rise for a year is 3%. Gutmann is a Penn staff also---40%??? commonnnnnnnnn

Staff and many faculty = relatively easy to replace = modest pay increase Gutmann = hard to replace = big pay increase I don't make anywhere near what Gutmann makes, but I wouldn't trade places with her for the world. That job must be her life - nights, weekends, travel, nonstop pressure, etc. Let her have her million a year. If it was an easy job to do well, Penn would replace her for less money. It isn't.