Former CIA director David Petraeus will take a teaching post at the City University of New York on an annual salary of $1, after the public institution was hit with a barrage of criticism over news its initial plans to pay him a six-figure sum.
Bringing on the former commander of the Allied Forces in
Afghanistan was meant to give CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College a
huge PR boost this fall, but instead it turned into a scandal
once Petraeus' salary figure of $200,000 surfaced. This at a time
when an Associate Professor’s salary at the institution averages
around $90,000, according to glassdoor.com.
Documents showing negotiations over the former military boss'
salary dating back to April were originally reported by Gawker.
According to initial reports, Petraeus would conduct a seminar
and two lectures per academic year for “$200,000 per annum,
supplemented by funds from a private gift,” CUNY chancellor
Matthew Goldstein wrote. The salary was still being negotiated at
that time.
Petraeus then wrote to Ann Kirschner, the dean of CUNY's Macaulay
College, telling her “The truth is that I could have had
gotten more money or more prestigious places.”
The university eventually landed on the slightly lower sum of
$150,000 as Petraeus' annual salary.
As public outrage at the publicly-funded educational institution
flowed, Republican city assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor wrote a
letter to CUNY's administration asking them to
“reconsider” spending six figures on a “celebrity”.
Bill de Blasio, a left-leaning candidate for mayor of New York
whose bid has been endorsed by the CUNY faculty’s union, asked
Interim Chancellor Bill Kelly to replace Petraeus’ contract with
a salary comparable to what other instructors receive. Brad
Lander, a New York City Council progressive, also started a
petition against the high salary, arguing the money would be
better used to cover the “30% tuition increase that CUNY has
been implementing over five years.”
On Monday, it was announced by Petraeus' lawyer that the general
would fill the post for just $1.
“The general never was taking on this teaching assignment for the
money,” said Robert Barnett, the lawyer. “Once controversy
arose about the amount he was being paid, he decided it was much
more important to keep the focus on the students, on the school
and on the teaching, and not have it be about the money.”
Therefore Petraeus agreed to wave his salary “to remove money
as a point of controversy,” Barnett said.
Following the public exposure of the anticipated salary,
Kirschner in a statement dismissed the controversy as
“unfortunate,” saying, “We felt that we had the
opportunity to bring somebody of extreme stature to be with our
students and that whether the salary was $200,000 or $150,000 he
was absolutely worth it.”