The Clarion Ledger has got a really big bee under its bonnet over the presidents of Mississippi universities. First, they go way off the deep end last year on the selection process being used now. They call it “secret”, apparently to make it sound sinister, when in fact it is simply a way to allow people to pursue the position without having the entire world know what they are doing. They seem incapable of understanding that once word is out that you are looking for another job, you impact your current employer even if you do not get the job.

Their latest tantrum is over the salaries given the presidents. As is customary, most university foundations supplement the salaries their presidents. That supplement varies with the size of the university and the amount of money the foundation has: the larger, wealthier, most comprehensive universities have larger supplements to account for the additional responsibilities of the president. Without those supplemental funds universities would not be able to attract quality people to the positions unless the state stepped up and raised their pay. Well if you have been around the Mississippi Legislature any time at all, you would know that if they raised the salaries of the university presidents, they would cut something somewhere else. (I distinctly recall the gaming industry being sold to the state as benefiting education. Well the gaming money given to education was offset by reprogramming roughly the same amount of funds from other sources.)

What really bothered about the article was the statement that the presidents could not serve two masters. That is simply a ludicrous statement and, I think, shows the inability of the Clarion Ledger to exercise critical thinking. People serve two masters everyday. We often call these people Reservists or National Guardsmen. Sometimes when they are part-time ministers, we call them Pastor. Others are called Board Member. The truth is that most over-achieving people, i.e. those people who work the hardest to make the world a better place, often serve two masters.

The difference in the cases I have mentioned and that of university presidents is, that in my examples, the two masters often have competing, perhaps even conflicting, goals. In the case of the university presidents, the state and the foundations share the same goals, namely making the institutions better. Serving two masters is also not limited to the presidents at the universities. Faculty members compete for research funding; funding that comes from the government, private institutions, or industry. They then complete this research while also teaching classes and serving the citizens of the state. Serving two masters makes them better faculty members, brings in much needed funds, and adds to the knowledgebase.

I will not even bother to discuss athletic departments and the multitude of “masters” they serve. However, I think it safe assume that the Clarion Ledger thinks coaches should give up their television and radio broadcasts and their product endorsements.

I don’t know how this bee got under their bonnet, but I wish someone would swat it. I’m getting tired of seeing the Clarion Ledger do story after story on their pet peeve. Move on guys, report the news.