New College tutors receive £30, 000 bonus
New College tutors have received a massive bonus from land
New College tutors have reaped a £30,000 reward from the college’s £55 million sale of land. The bonuses were made to bolster the meagre salaries offered to academics by the University, authorities claim. The sale of land in Buckinghamshire has made New the sixth-richest Oxford college, with permanent endowments of over £125 million. The sale also released around £1.5 million into the “income stream”, the fund from which the college spends money on salaries, construction and bursaries.
The College will distribute £10,000 a year for three years to its 39 fellows with tutorial and pastoral duties, as well as £2,500 to junior fellows. The bonuses will be reviewed after a three year period and it is likely that the outcome of the AUT action will play a key part in the college’s decision on pay. New College students have questioned the College’s decision to reward such a large perk to its fellows, arguing that it ignores the financial needs of students.
First year Harry Cooper said, “I’m not really sure what to think. On the one hand, the college complains about how little money they have and then they end up spending it on dons. On the other, they probably argue that fellows are the college’s most important assets.” “However, the food in college is disgusting, absolutely vile, so I don’t see how they can justify spending all this money on fellows when there’s so much other work to be done.
The remainder of the money gained from the land sale will be spent on improving the college’s roof and in promoting “academic development”, through schemes such as bursaries and travel grants. The move came as the pay dispute between the University and staff received a boost last week, with talks resuming between the AUT and The Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association. Lecturers and tutors have been offered an improved salary deal, with an increase of 13.1% proposed by universities. New College Bursar David Palfreyman said, “The low pay offered to fellows by the University is just a horrible reality and it’s a problem that everyone is in agreement about. Fortunately, we’re in a position where we’re able to do something about it.” “We’re helping to compensate for the fact that the University has failed to break out of pay negotiation.
Belatedly, we’re putting fellowships back into the equation, rewarding people that have lost out consistently over the past 25 years.” Palfreyman also noted the problem of Oxford fellows migrating to America, where high salaries can prove a tempting draw. “New College has to do its own thing and stop academics disappearing to America.
New JCR President Tim Kaye said, “Some students were fairly surprised by the College’s plans to spend a significant amount of the money from the land sale on pay.“ “At the same time, it’s also acknowledged that tutors are a college’s most important resource and this is a good way of recognising that, particularly in the current general climate of underfunding in higher education.
Other college authorities acknowledge the problems caused by variations in salary across the University. Teddy Hall Bursar Geoffrey Bourne-Taylor said, “What individual colleges do with their money is entirely up to them, but there is a huge disparity because some colleges are able to pay fellows much higher than others.
The land, just outside the village of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, was originally given to New College by the Bishop of Westminster on 1 October 1386, precisely 820 years before it was sold.
1st Jun 2006