Former Governor Mitch Daniels (R-IN) — once considered a promising presidential candidate — is the incoming president at Purdue University. You’d think he could have commanded one of the highest salaries among Big 10 presidents. Andrew P. Kelly of the American Enterprise Institute reports:
Instead, Daniels has opted for a performance-based contract, with rewards for reaching targets on measures of student and institutional success. Daniels stands to earn up to 30 percent above his base salary of $420,000 for achieving goals on measures like graduation rates, student learning outcomes, and affordability, along with more standard metrics like fundraising and faculty excellence. Even with a perfect score, which trustees think will be difficult, Daniels would earn $546,000, which would still rank 10th out of 12 Big 10 university presidents.
For those familiar with his tenure in Indiana, Daniels’ insistence on being held accountable for the outcomes that matter most to taxpayers—the creation of human capital—won’t be surprising.
Read the whole thing.