I do not know whether anyone else was surprised to see that six of the top ten wage earners on the state's payroll are University administrators, but I was. Admittedly, I am not sure what a provost's salary should be (anywhere from 1 to 5 million dollars a month?), but Arthur Garson, executive vice president and provost, makes more than $700,000 - 4.25 times the amount Virginia's governor makes. Seventy percent of University salaries come from self-generated funds that do not affect taxpayers, so the University largely pays for its own salaries. Garson is the highest-paid individual state employee, yet I must shamefully admit that I still do not know what a provost even is.
Taken out of context and displayed as static facts, the high salaries that our University administrators enjoy might catch people off-guard. The qualifications, responsibilities and contributions that merit a large salary are not conveyed in the list of the top 10 earners among state employees in Virginia. But make no mistake: The scope of responsibility and professional qualifications that justify lavish compensation are well-represented among our top administrators.
Take the aforementioned Garson, for example: He was the president of the American College of Cardiology, served on a White House panel on health policy, held administrative positions at Baylor and Duke Universities and was the University Medical School's dean before he was named provost. If there is a stronger r
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