Editor,
Those who fret over UNM President David Schmidly's $587,000 salary may not know of what it consists.
Wardrobe needs alone draw $95,000, which includes the cost of designing and tailoring presentable suits of Kevlar (cut resistance) and Nomex (fireproofing) - essential against peasant-wielded pitchforks and torches.
Vehicle body/windows armor costs $90,000. Blackwater bodyguards, an out-of-pocket cost for Schmidly, receive $130,000 of that $587,000. His unique, custom Bose FLF (Faculty Lament Filter) earbuds, essential for concentration, lease at $20,000 per year. His daily REI (Rehabilitation of the Ethically Impaired) therapy alone sets him back $175,000 per session.
Mere non-bureaucratic minds may not grasp these sensible needs. More seriously, as one hired to chair, teach and research at institutions including Stanford, Georgetown, George Washington, NYU, U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Defense Language Institute, I decry and denounce the ethical void implicit in University administrators' illicit straining to justify pay more than double that of the U.S. president. The abysmally ironic example this sets for students and faculty is world-class tragically pathetic, directly fomenting distrust and contempt while reducing motivation to embody sound educational values.
Kent Ponder
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