The newly-appointed president of Kentucky State University, Dr. Raymond Burse, has already won plenty of admirers with his first act as head honcho.
A salary of $349,869 (€260,000) would sound pretty good to most of us out there, but Dr. Raymond Burse decided that he had a problem with it. The problem was that it was too much, and with other workers on the college campus being paid the legal minimum of $7.50 (€5.58) an hour, he decided that he'd take a bit of a pay cut.
He agreed with the university board that his salary should be around $90,000 less (a 25% cut), although still a hefty $259,745 (€193,500), with the money they would have spent paying him going to the lowest paid workers in the college.
Pic via Kentucky State University/TheGrio.com
That means that the new lowest wage will be $10.25 an hour, providing a better standard of living for all those at the university. Felicia Lewis, a university spokesperson, said that "the board offered him one salary, and he accepted another...He has personal and administrative principles regarding pay equity".
Burse himself has stated that he wasn't looking for any media attention, adding "you don’t give up $90,000 for publicity. I did this for the people". Although he is only expected to hold the position for 12 months, it is believed that the new starting minimum wage for those at the university will be $10.25 even after Burse's tenure finishes.
Via TheGrio.com. Main pic via backgroundwallpapers.com
