news-record.com

When former N.C. A&T Chancellor Stanley Battle abruptly retired this year, he received six months of paid research leave while maintaining his chancellor's salary of $273,156 per year. He will return to teach in January at an unspecified professor's salary in A&T's school of sociology and social work.

The arrangement angered some alumni and faculty. But it was merely par for the course.

The road back to the classroom for top UNC administrators is often paved with time and money. Under a policy called "retreat rights," these administrators receive generous leaves at high salaries after stepping down from top leadership posts. They can use the leaves for research. Or not.

The policy typically applies to chancellors, provosts and department heads. Most recently it came to light in the case of former N.C. State Chancellor James Oblinger and Provost Larry Nielsen, both of whom resigned under pressure.

When Nielsen stepped down, Oblinger offered him a pay rate well above the normal pay scale for a professor. Then Oblinger himself received a six-month paid leave at a salary of $210,000 after he resigned.

James Moeser, who retired as chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill, fared even better, receiving a year-long leave at his chancellor's salary of $390,000, before settling into a $234,000 salary for co-teaching a music course and mentoring other faculty. Former UNCG Chancellor Patricia Sullivan received $288,750 during an 11-month leave after her retirement.

All told, The News & Observer of Raleigh reports, the UNC system paid 117 administrators a total of $8 million over the last five years.

The idea isn't to revoke all transitional pay, especially for administrators who have performed well. Chancellors, in particular, work in high-stakes, high-pressure environments. But the process appears inconsistent and, in some cases, downright extravagant. UNC President Erskine Bowles is right to propose some overdue changes.

They include limiting the offers to top administrators with five years' experience or more and capping paid leaves at six-months at faculty salaries, not administrative pay. More lucrative deals would require Board of Governors approval.

Some UNC chancellors argued Thursday that the current policy is appropriate for high-risk jobs such as theirs. But the problem here isn't in the spirit of the provision, it's in the specifics.

Bowles is right to push for consistency and to push against some of the cushy paydays being offered to top administrators even as tuition rates rise and faculty jobs are being cut.