Open Letter to President Bergeron:
An editorial in the November 10th issue of the College Voice reported that your salary increased by $211,424 in 2019, from $418,304 to $629,728. We have since learned that this was not a salary increase but a contractual payment due to you when you opted out of a one-year sabbatical.
We do not think that accepting that bonus showed good leadership. Many staff colleagues have been furloughed; student facilities, notably dormitories, are in poor repair; and faculty are dealing with cutbacks and loss of salary. This makes us see the announcement of your 25% pay cut in a different light.
As faculty, we have invested years of our lives in Connecticut College, and we have a significant stake in its future. We ask for transparency about how the College’s limited resources are being used. We ask for better leadership.
Sincerely,
Eileen Kane, Associate Professor of History and Director of Global Islamic Studies
Lina Perkins Wilder, Professor and Chair, English Department
This is truly an enlightening open letter. Thank you for raising these concerns to the larger Connecticut College community.
I constantly hear how we don’t have the money to raise my salary, when I ask. I am made very aware about how there is no money to make improvements on the building I work in. I also did the math. Bergeron makes 33 times the salary as my measly hourly wage. This greedy gap between the two salaries is disappointing. Conn College needs to do better. Pay better.