Members of Miami's faculty are reportedly upset after seeing the university sign new football coach Mario Cristobal to an $80 million contract after a year of pandemic cuts, according to the Miami Herald.
Besides forcing faculty to teach in person, the university has slashed more than $100 million in its matching contributions to faculty retirement plans and forced staff to accept compensation cuts. But several faculty members tell the Miami Herald that they believe the cuts helped bankroll spending on athletics and construction projects.
"Faculty are asking themselves the question, why does there seem to be money for major capital projects, for a new football coach and for these [COVID-19] stimulus checks for students, while there isn’t money to make the faculty whole again after losing eight to nine months of retirement contributions,” said a Miami faculty senate member, who did not want to be identified by the Miami Herald due to possible repercussions.