The previous Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Andrew Hamilton, was the highest single earner of university chiefs, according to a report issued earlier this month by the University and College Union (UCU.) The report, which investigated 159 institutions, found Hamilton received a salary of £462,000 in 2014-5.
This meant that Hamilton had the third-highest annual salary of university chiefs, but the two universities who paid higher wages had two heads each. University bosses received an average salary of £272,432, an increase of three per cent on the previous year and 6.7 times the average pay of their staff. The report shows that while Vice-Chancellors’ pay has risen 14 per cent over the last five years, staff pay has only risen by five per cent.
Sally Hunt, the UCU general secretary, stated, “The time has finally come for a frank and open discussion about pay and transparency in higher education. The huge disparities in the levels of pay and pay rises at the top expose the arbitrary nature of senior pay in our universities.”
When asked if the Vice-Chancellor pay at Oxford seemed justified, an Oxford spokesperson told Cherwell, “[Oxford] is consistently ranked among the handful of best universities in the world. The Vice-Chancellor’s salary reflects that.”
The spokesperson also highlighted an inconsistency, saying, “The UCU are saying that Professor Hamilton’s total package (including pensions) went up from £442k to £462k. They are not comparing like with like. The comparable figures are £454,000 for 2014 and £462,000 for 2015 – a total rise of 1.7 per cent.”
Oxford’s current Vice-Chancellor Richardson has stated, “The argument for the salaries Vice Chancellors are paid is that universities… have to compete globally if we are to attract the best university leaders. Compared to many university staff, Vice Chancellors are indeed very highly paid, but [not] compared to bankers and footballers.”
