Still Wrong
Barry Scherr's reply ("The Administration Strikes Back," April 6) to my column (The "Administrative Life Initiative," April 2) is a model of subtle dissimulation that merits an effort at deconstruction. For instance, Provost Scherr knows my background well enough to know that it has more intellectual and experiential depth than being the co-owner of the River Valley Club, one of my companies. The basis for my critique of the College's undisciplined administrative spending comes from my education at the Yale Law School, my years in London as a management consultant at Bain and Co. and my business relationships in 40 countries over the last two decades. That said, this kind of background is not necessary to recognize that Jim Wright's administrative spending growth of 57.5 percent over the past five years, in an environment that had inflation of only 11 percent, is an example of mismanagement. I would welcome an effort by Provost Scherr to deal directly with the substance of my criticism: He dismisses the almost $10 million increase in the administrative budget as inconsequential in the context of an overall College budget of more than $400 million, but he ignores Jim Wright's attempt to cut the swim team to save $200,000.