news-record.com

When Stanley Battle stepped down in June as chancellor at N.C. A&T after only two years in office, he didn't go off the payroll. His $273,156 annual salary continued while he took a "study leave," which began July 1 and ends Dec. 31. He then has the opportunity to return to a faculty position at "a normal salary for his discipline."

Battle's arrangement is typical for the University of North Carolina system, which has been generous to a fault to outgoing chancellors and other top administrators. That policy may soon change, however, and for the better.

A committee of the UNC Board of Governors last week recommended stricter rules for granting study leaves for departing chancellors and presidents. The major revisions: Administrators could qualify for a six-month leave after five years on the job and only at a faculty-level salary. The full board should enact the new policy when it meets in January.

A paid study leave is reasonable if a chancellor is retiring on good terms and can still contribute to the university in a faculty position. In that case, he or she deserves time to enjoy a break and to prepare for a different role.

UNCG's Patricia Sullivan was granted a year's research leave at her $301,952 salary when she retired in June 2008 after a successful 13-year tenure as chancellor. Then she was to return to a tenured faculty position at 60 percent of that pay level. Sadly, she died in August.

In several instances, universities have paid top dollar for study leaves only to see the recipient accept a job somewhere else or simply retire, never returning to teach.

Franklin McCain, chairman of A&T's board of trustees, last summer explained the arrangement with Battle as an obligation. "We made an agreement, a gentleman's agreement, and we have to honor that," he said.

That is why the UNC Board of Governors must step in to bar such agreements in the first place. In these financially stressful times, state universities can't afford to provide lavish payouts, even to distinguished departing leaders, let alone to those who haven't met expectations.