Rick Scott posts university salaries online

So why doesn’t Scott also post the salaries of all government officials as well? Why ONLY the teachers? I could maybe understans and it would seem more fair if ALL government workers drawing at the public till were listed, not just single out the one group.

How about posting everyone’s salary (and benefits), including those of the people who work on Wall St and of all the bankers and of all reporters (especially financial reporters), of talk show hosts including radio and TV, and the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and O’Reilly and all CEOs, CFOs and alike. Everyone should know.

How is Florida suppose to attract the nations best and brightest researchers and innovators in such a hostile environment? Most of the highest paid professionals are medical researchers, and just one advancement leads to billions of dollars in revenues and thousands of jobs… A neuro-scientist on the open market fetches well over a million a year, and at USF they get 400K, but they do it because they are dedicated to medical advancement. Universities are a primary driver of economic growth and Rick should be fighting to double their budgets, and bring professors salaries up to national standards, instead he is hurting our chances of growth. Attacking Universities is simply bad economics and a job killer.

How about bringing K-12 salaries to a level where FL can attract and retain qualified teachers? Maybe then FL universities can have a hope of attracting and retaining qualified students. No? Aw, heck. All right, Gov Scott, just cut to the chase. Do away with education altogether and reinstate the feudal system. Serfs’ up!

It’s nice to see what our Marxist professors are making. The only ones who are earning their salaries are probably the doctors.

And Gov. Lex Luthor continues to push for dumbing down of Americans.

I just hope that a good professor is seen in that light. Good teachers are not easy to find. You get what you pay for.

Why else would baldy not publish what his salary was when he defrauded Medicare or how many stock he has in the drug testing company doing the welfare people. Why else would he not compare these salaries to teachers of other prestigious universities?

He’s just attempting to muddy the waters before a major push to kill education in FL.

The only saving grace from all this is Scott is hanging himself. Despite the nutjobs that elected this kook, he is constantly kicking the sleeping, lazy dog that is our democracy….and soon the dog will bite back. Now where are all of Rick Scott’s emails? Remember, knowingly destroying public records is an impeachable offense under Ch. 119….exactly where does this issue fit into Scott’s “the public has a right to know” office? Wake up people this is no longer a dress rehersal.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has a “Rick Scott Watch” now in place.

When did the definition of “Watch” change to “Attack”.

Many of us might die die of shock if anything positive about our elected Governor appeared in these pages!

Ahhh! Freedom of the press to Report. Yeah! Right!

All state employees EXCEPT the governor’s staff have their salaries posted. For that information you still need to file a public records request and then fight in court to get the information….

Why does he block and protect from any public dissemination where insurance payment dollars go?They move all their profit into shell offshore corps,while the Governor nods approvingly and encourages them to gouge Floridians more.

As a university employee, I don’t have a problem with my salary being posted; like many have said, *some* of my earnings are paid for with taxpayers’ dollars. INCLUDING MINE – I’m a taxpayer, too! I chose to work in higher ed (first at a community college and now at a university) because I liked the idea that I was working for something more than simply making somebody else money. Back *before* the recession, I could have done the same job (I’m not faculty) in the private sector for more money–higher ed’s recruitment point was that the lower salary was made up for with excellent benefits–benefits that are slowly being eroded. Now, frankly, I just feel blessed to have a job.

This information should be printed on the front page of the newspaper so the tax payers who work all day and dont have time to search for hours on the internet to find this information can now see why there is nothing left in their paychecks checks at the end of the week

Good. I’m glad these folks who have worked so hard in their academic and publishing careers are getting paid well. Most probably deserve more. State employee salaries have always been a matter of public record. This is Rick Scott trying to stir up hate at academia by the ignorant.

Once again the governor of Florida has shown why he was a mistake.

What purpose has publishing the salaries of educators in the Florida university system served the public? This has all the hallmarks of a political tool, particularly since they were available already online.

I find it frightening that Mr. Scott wants to remodel the universities, possibly removing programs that don’t serve a “practical” purpose in his eyes. I imagine he would probably start to dismantle the Arts programs, history, literature, those that in his opinion won’t lead to “jobs”. GUESS WHAT Mr. Scott, there aren’t any JOBS, certainly not in the state of Florida.

I don’t see you going after the exhorbident college sports programs that often don’t lead to much of anything for a majority of their participants. Many don’t finish with degrees, leaving school early to chase that elusive pot of gold on the Professional level. There seems to be a disconnect happening, and it starts in the highest office in this state. Possibly a lobotomy is required.

PS: This article could have used a serious re-edit. There were many strange transitions, awkward sentences and just plain bad grammer. SHT should do better. Maybee the time has come to combine all the Florida and local news with the comics into a single section and add it to the New York Times. Just a Thought.

It’s not the posting that’s a problem. In fact, anyone with any competence who researches salaries in other places (in both the U.S. and abroad) can use this to determine how grossly underpaid MOST of the professors in this state really are. Bear in mind that professors and teachers are professionals who train for several years and take on a responsibility that exceeds many other jobs. So of course we hear from people with little understanding of education that teachers are making more than (fill in the blank here), and they seem to want professors and teachers to earn minimum wage, or work for tips, or whatever.

Also, to address some other comments, most professors are not upset at the fact of Scott posting salaries but rather the intent and manner. He has not made issue with other state employees–paid entirely out of public coffers and most far exceeding the average professor’s salary. The method he used creates a hostility toward his action, not toward the posted material, itslef.

Finally, we need to consider an inaccuracy. A university employee’s salary is comprised also of tuition money. In order to keep costs down, these schools are supplemented by taxpayers, but over 50%–in most cases–comes from tuition. So you, griping taxpayer, pay only half of what you think you pay. Now, we can fix this if the legislature permits Florida to immediately raise tuition to something even CLOSE to the national average. Then, you can keep all of your tax money, and we’ll just charge the students the TRUE value of education, but most couldn’t afford it. In fact, education is invaluable, so what is anyone complaining about?

This infomation and much more ahs been avaiable for a long time. Why the whining?

http://www2.tbo.com/fact-finder/government-salaries/

Let me see all State employees pay and benifits as “easy” to see who was arrested, and why, but not convicted of a crime??????????????????

As others note, this is already public. Posting it would be more valuable however if the details were better and the search more refined; some context like comparable salaries at private institutions or publics in other states would really help.

-.75 is for those who are 9-month employees: most faculty are only paid for 9-months of teaching, although they are expected to produce research as well. No, we don’t have “summers off”–we’re unemployed, though that’s when we are usually doing most of our required research or teaching summer session for extra pay.

-most faculty have “terminal degrees”–that’s a PhD in most fields, which takes usually 6-8 years in Humanities, sometimes more like 5 in Sciences where funding cuts down on the amount of teaching grad students have to do. So you’re talking about 9-12 years of university-education plus earning promotion by extensive review of your teaching, scholarship, and institutional service for any of these salaries.

-to be at all competitive, entering salaries for new professors w/PhDs or MFAs are at least $50K. That’s pretty close to entering salary for most good business jobs which require a BA or BS. That’s what a lot of Florida public universities’ recent graduates are making actually.

-Some fields pay better, usually those where there are good industry jobs (Business, Economics, some Chemistry, some Poli Sci, etc.); some fields pay less. This is also true of most administrative positions–though some people take lower pay for working in what is essentially a public service.

-faculty at institutions that teach graduate students pay more than those who teach only undergraduates; this is reflected pretty clearly.

-Details of extra assignments (chair of department, administrative assignments, etc.) would also clarify some out-of-line salaries, but aren’t included or separated out clearly here.

Remember, these folks taught your legislators and neighbors, will teach most of your kids, and even teach future teachers and university professors. As others point out, state funding doesn’t fully fund our state universities. Most raise money from private donations, alumni gifts, sports and other sales, etc. In fact, state contributions in Florida and elsewhere have been dropping for years. So these salaries aren’t actually paid from FL residents’ taxes–i.e. sales tax, at least not fully. And in-state tuition here is one of the best deals in the country–mostly because a lot of Fl faculty and university employees are really really dedicated despite their relatively low pay.

Good about time we know what each professor earns. Those who are opposed are prob ably overpaid