12/17/2009: Here’s a long and interesting article from Insidehighered.com on UW Provost Phyllis Wise’s decision to accept an offer to join the Nike board. I’m not a Nike basher – the way to improve the lives of low wage workers in poor countries is to buy what they make, not boycott it – but the time commitment is an issue. Someone already receiving a large salary from taxpayers and students should keep their focus on the academic issues they are paid to work on. With stock options, the Nike job pays a hundred thousand a year or so. Administrators typically argue that these board positions are a way to network with rich potential donors – but Wise refuses to discuss donating this to charity. Former UO President Frohnmayer was (and is) on the Umpqua Bank board, and also apparently kept the $50,000 or so he earned. We don’t know how many current UO administrators are doing this.
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