INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 136, No. 60
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020
n
12 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Dualing Factions
Grimes
History Made
Rain and Patchy Fog
The Cayuga Nation Council tests tribal jurisdiction, and sparks federal criticism. | Page 3
Grimes’s latest Album, Miss Anthropocene, is a futuristic soundscape, writes Carolyn Hale ’22. | Page 7
Cornell now boasts both of the top-ranked teams in college hockey. | Page 12
HIGH: 45º LOW: 31º
Cornell President’s Salary Lowest of Ivy League Around the Ivies, all but Pollack and one other rake in more than $1 million annually
By SARAH SKINNER Sun Managing Editor
President Martha Pollack is Cornell’s highest officer, leading the multi-campus university and overseeing billions in operations from her Day Hall office. But while she takes in hundreds of thousands in salary for this gig, tax documents show that her first-year payout was far less than any other president in the Ivy League. Pollack made a base salary of only $671,693 in her first year, with an additional $16,000 in benefits and “other” compensation, according to Cornell’s tax filings for 2017-2018. Her first-year Ivy League salary didn’t clear the top 100 total take-ins for American private university executives, and according to tax data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the presidents of all seven Ivy League universities took in far more cash during the 2017-2018 academic year than Pollack. Across the Ivies
Some other Ivy League leaders have reigned over their brick-and-mortars for decades, others for only a few years, but all — save the president of Princeton University — took in at least a million dollars from their institutions during the 2017-2018 year. Salaries range in the millions, and presidential pack-
ages can come with lucrative retirement plans, complimentary mansions for their tenure and tens of thousands more in benefits. The University of Pennsylvania set aside $686,500 in 2017-2018 just for its president Amy Gutmann’s retirement plan — Gutmann’s total paycheck, the highest in the Ivy League, was just shy of $3 million. Gutmann has been in office since 2004. Princeton head Christoper Eisgruber, then in his fifth year in office, made $970,900 — still nearly $300,000 more than Pollack. Eisgruber started at Princeton in 2013 with a salary of around $730,000 between base pay and benefits. Harvard recruited a new president, Lawrence Bacow, the year after Pollack in 2018; Bacow’s salary has not yet been made public. Many prestigious schools shell out millionaire salaries for their top dogs, and while paydays often skew higher for private universities than for public ones, there’s no hard-and-fast rule. When Pollack came to Cornell from her post as provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at the University of Michigan, she took a pay raise of around $175,000. However, she currently makes less than Mark Schlissel, president of the Big 10 school, both now and in his first year in office in 2014. The 2017-2018 figure only reports President
Pollack’s own first year at her Day Hall desk — Cornell’s presidential salaries have traditionally increased over time. Previous records show that while base pay may increase by a few tens of thousands each year, the real payday comes from bonus and extra pay, which can net leaders h u n dreds of thousands above that base figure. See POLLACK page 5
COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Tompkins County Legislator Makes Pan-African Flag Soars History, Elected as First Black Chair Over Ithaca City Hall Leslyn McBean-Clairborne assumed historic role on Feb. 18 By JOHN YOON Sun Staff Writer
With a 9-5 vote, the Tompkins County Legislature elected Leslyn McBean-Clairborne (D-2nd District) as Chair of the Legislature, making history on February 18. In an election presided over by Interim Chair Shawna Black (D-11th District), McBean-Clairborne — the first black chair of the Legislature — bested Mike Lane (D-14th District) after he couldn’t win the eight votes necessary to be re-elected chair. When speaking about her victory, McBeanCOURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Chair change | McBeanClairborne (pictured) speaks at Sage Chapel in 2017. She began her role as chair on Feb. 18.
Clairborne said while it was “heartbreaking” that we are still celebrating first people of color, the development was still “encouraging.” “We fight as people of color so hard to stay relevant,” McBean-Clairborne said. “It feels good to know that I can be an example to many young people of color out there … including my own daughter.” For the past decade, leadership has flip-flopped between two legislators — Martha Robertson ’75 and Mike Lane — a cyclical back-and-forth that caused McBean-Clairborne and other county legisSee CHAIR page 5
For Black History Month
the post at a government building really gives you a sense of belonging,” Graison told The For the first time, the Pan- Sun. African flag is being flown atop While this is the first time Ithaca City Hall in recognition the flag was flown atop Ithaca of Black History Month. City Hall, Graison used the But for Tompkins County County Legislature’s authority Legislator Henry Graison J.D. to fly the Pan-African flag on ’88 (D-3rd District), who county buildings in 2019. The spearheaded the initiative, this flag is also being flown at Ithaca moment represents just another Town Hall. step in his plan This year, to fly the flag on “To see the flag flying on Graison worked more buildings. with the Ithaca The Pan- the post at a government C o m m o n African flag, building really gives you a C o u n c i l adopted in sub-committee sense of belonging.” 1920 by the to fly the flag Universal Negro on City Hall, Henry Graison J.D. ’88 Improvement which granted Association and Graison’s appliAfrican Communities League, cation to fly the flag for the represents a connectdness of the remainder of February on Feb. 5. African Diaspora, black nation“There was no hiccup or alism and black freedom –– ele- anything else,” Graison said, ments of Garveyism. Marcus though noted that the city clerk Garvey, a Jamaican political reportedly “forgot” to fly the flag activist, founded the UNIA- the day after the application was ACL in 1914 to promote black approved until after an email nationalism. “To see the flag flying on See FLAG page 5 By ALEC GIUFURTA Sun Staff Writer