While we on the UW side of the chancellor search are blogging about the prospects of hiring Biddy Martin, it’s natural that bloggers from Cornell are doing the same about potentially losing her. I must confess I only found this blog when they linked to me today, but it was still pretty interesting to read a Cornell blogger’s thoughts on potentially losing their provost.
The first post when the news broke that she was a finalist.
The second speculation on the odds of losing her.
The last one today with some speculation from the Wisconsin side.
All of them speak very highly about Biddy Martin and reaffirm my thoughts that she would be a solid choice for chancellor.
Another interesting read is the Cornell Daily Sun’s article about Martin being named a finalist. The quote she gave them makes it seem like she would not take the job if it were offered.
Although Martin’s status as a finalist has made news across the Midwest, Martin seems less preoccupied by the selection.
“As an experienced provost of a major research university, I frequently get inquiries about presidencies and chancellor positions at other institutions,” Martin said. “I love Cornell and am very happy in the provost’s position, so was not ‘looking to leave.’”
…
Martin added that it is too early to tell whether she will take the position at UW-Madison if offered. However, she stated that Cornell has not begun the search for a replacement for the provost.
Which brings up an angle that I think has been missing from the UW perspective: none of the finalists have committed to accepting the chancellor job. We could potentially end up with a scenario where one or more of the finalists are offered the job and turn it down.
Another thing that I have yet to hear mentioned is the fact that she would be taking a pay cut to come be our chancellor
According to The Sentinel, the maximum salary that the next chancellor of UW-Madison would make would be $452,000. Martin currently earns over half a million dollars at Cornell. She told The Sentinel that salary is not a concern for her in making the decision.
While that proves that we don’t need to offer the highest salaries in order to find very qualified chancellors. It makes me wonder if it would have been a different story had the pay not been increased from what Wiley received. Taking a pay cut of tens of thousands of dollars when you make that much is one thing. I would imagine that taking a $200,000 pay cut just might be another. I don’t know if it would affect her decision, but how many people are willing to take a 40% pay cut to take a new position?
