Cleveland State University plans to buy a home for President Ronald Berkman. Although no tuition or state funds will go towards paying for this move, it is important to understand that this money was donated to the university with the intent that it would benefit the students, not a president who makes over $400,000 a year as a base salary. This is not the first time the University has paid for President Berkman's home. After assuming the position in 2009, CSU spent more than $1.2 million on a house in Shaker Heights. After divorcing his wife, Cleveland State agreed to pay for his apartment at The 9. Now, Berkman has once again requested new living space on the University's dime. Meanwhile, the average CSU student is over $24,000 in debt, repairs are desperately needed around campus, department funding is being cut, and adjunct professors suffer on starvation wages. This decision would prove costly to the university, not only monetarily, but for the sake of public relations as well. This frivolous spending is likely to damage the image of Cleveland State to new potential donors in and around the community, depriving us of funding we so desperately need. We, the students and faculty who this money should rightfully be used to help, demand that this funding be repurposed into a budget that works for everyone, not just the interests of our President.
More on the issue: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/02/cleveland_state_university_to_10.html A
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/02/csu_president_ronald_berkman_s_1.html
