£468k university head gets £50k in pension job
THE highest paid university boss in the country also earns a £50,000 salary running a pension scheme, it emerged yesterday.
Dame Glynis Breakwell was paid the extra money last year to manage pensions for academics – on top of the £468,000 she receives as vice-chancellor of the University of Bath.
It was unclear yesterday how many hours she works for her role as chairman of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) policy committee – or why the job is so well paid.
The figures, published by Times Higher Education, come as the USS is struggles to plug a £7.5billion deficit.
Dame Glynis has announced her retirement from the university following an outcry over her enormous salary. After her retirement, she will get a six- month ‘sabbatical’ on full pay. She lives in a £1.6million graceand-favour house and claimed £20,000 in expenses in one year.
Sir David Eastwood, vicechancellor of the University of Birmingham, was paid £90,000 last year as USS chairman. His pay package from Birmingham last year was £439,000, up from £426,000 the year before. The third university leader on the USS board is Sir Anton Muscatelli, of the University of Glasgow, who was paid £35,000. However a Glasgow spokesman said he ‘gifts this entire amount every year’ to the university, and ‘always has done’.
Sir David and Dame Glynis declined to say whether they did the same.
But Roger Brown, former vice- chancellor of Southampton Solent University, said they were only on the board because they were vice-chancellors, so any earnings should therefore ‘be paid to their employer’.
He added: ‘ Everything you do during your time at a university should be to the credit of the university.’
A USS spokesman said: ‘Board members are responsible for the stewardship of a significant financial institution… which requires a substantial commitment of time and effort to demanding roles.’