Something's Rotten at the UC

So, after 32 years, UCSC decided it can no longer afford the Shakespeare Santa Cruz company, one of the region's cultural highpoints. 

Here's a great story looking at some of the numbers in the Santa Cruz Sentinel by Wallace Baine: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/santacruz/ci_23977879/ucsc-arts-dean-defends-closing-shakespeare-sa...

Baine presents the rationale for disbanding the program by Dean David Yager, who earns $246,000 a year. That's roughly half the annual debt of the company, depending on how you crunch the numbers.  Do you wonder what an arts dean does to earn $246,000 a year, and whether if he can't manage to keep one of the few reasons the University gives for the community to come there, he's earning his generous stipend?

I love the quote in Wallace's story where Dean David Yager says the decision is made by someone at a"higher pay grade." Scary to think how many higher pay grades there are at a place that's supposed to provide affordable education but keeps bumping salaries and fees. 

What do you think? Has the City on a Hill taken put up another wall dividing itself from the community? 

It's also ironic how when a public institution wants to spend money, it lists all the peripheral benefits a project will bring in, such as when the city built the Warriors stadium and talked about the spending at hotels and restaurants. In the article, the University is accused of NOT listing the peripherals, such as rent and parking that Shakespeare brings in. 

What do you think about this loss? How will it affect you? Is the University a good or bad community member?