Good for him. But this is form over substance, unless all of the super-paid faculty do the same.
Don’t hold your breath.
New University of Idaho President Scott Green is taking a week off without pay to help the institution grapple with its worsening financial crisis. Green announced his decision in a memo to faculty and staff on Wednesday.
The UI’s financial crisis is getting worse with a recent order from Governor Brad Little. The governor has directed all state agencies to trim their current budgets by 1% and to cut spending in the next fiscal year by 2%. That order means the UI must cut a million dollars from the current budget. That’s on top of 14 million dollars in cuts already implemented to deal with a 22 million dollar shortfall.
To help meet the new million dollars in cuts now required in the current fiscal year the UI is asking employees to consider voluntary furlough. Green’s memo announces that he and most of his executive leadership team are taking voluntary furlough days. Green says he will take 5 days off without pay. All eligible UI employees may take up to 5 furlough days between now and late Spring. Furlough days cannot lead to the cancellation of any class at the UI.