Top Administrators at U. Hawaii to Take Pay Cuts

The president of the University of Hawaii, David McClain, and the soon-to-be system president, M.R.C. Greenwood, are planning to take a 10-percent pay cut in order to help offset $155-million in budget cuts over the next two years, the Honolulu Advertiser reports. Under the proposal, which President McClain will present to the Board of Regents on August 27, another 210 administrators throughout the 10-campus UH system would also take home 6 to 9 percent less, depending on their most recent performance evaluations, he told the newspaper. The announcement comes in the midst of discussions between the governor, the university, the state Department of Education, and several unions over proposed pay cuts and furloughs, the Advertiser notes. McClain, who is trimming his own salary by 10 percent this month, even though the proposed cuts would not take effect until September, told the newspaper the move is intended as a show of solidarity: “It fulfills my commitment that our executives will play a leadership role in addressing the fiscal challenges that the university faces,” he said.