Cash-strapped UC Berkeley pays $2.4 million in executive bonuses

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http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02/04/uc.bonuses.ap/index.html

BERKELEY, California (AP) -- The cash-strapped University of California handed out $2.4 million in bonuses to administrators at its five medical schools, angering campus workers and students.

The payments to 65 administrators averaged $36,000 and reached as high as $82,000, according to a report to the UC Board of Regents made public by an employee union.

UC officials said the incentive awards were in line with industry standards, were tied to performance and came out of money made by UC hospitals. Critics said the bonuses were hard to justify in light of UC's financial condition. The university has raised student fees for four consecutive years in the wake of state funding cuts.

"In troubled budget times this really just shows us, the students, what the priorities of our administration will be," said Jennifer Lilla, president of UC's student association and a medical student. The largest bonus went to UC Davis Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Robert Chason, who received the $82,000, 20 percent of his annual salary of $410,000.