(Updated) Tell Us: Would Spouse of University of Iowa President Get Fundraising Pay if He was a Woman?

Update:

New information shows the Iowa Regents decided not to pay the wife of the Iowa State University president for fundraising duties, despite several years earlier approving a contract to pay the husband of the University of Iowa president for fundraising.

A report by Clark Kauffman of the Des Moines Register shows the Iowa Regents stipulated last year that although Janet Leath, the wife of new ISU President Steven Leath, would have "many official duties on behalf of the university" she would not be paid.

Previous:

The story of the unique pay arrangement for , husband of President Sally Mason, generated an interesting discussion on my Facebook page.

The sentiment was that wives of university presidents have long been expected to support the careers of their more prominent husbands, attending events and playing the supportive spouse. But, they didn't get paid for it. Now that women are assuming more leadership roles, why is it that a man is getting paid for similar duties.

It's an interesting question about gender roles, and whether our culture values the time of women and men equally.

What do you think?

Ken Mason earns $54,000 a year for his help with fundraising plus an additional $53,000 a year as a lecturer in the biology department, as part of the deal negotiated when Sally Mason was hired in 2007.

UI says it did not pay a fundraising fee to Robin Davisson, the spouse of former UI president David Skorton, or Carol Fethke, the wife of former interim president Gary Fethke. Those are Mason's two most recent predecessors. The Des Moines Register reports a fundraising fee is not paid to the wives of the presidents at Iowa State or University of Northern Iowa.