Government revenues are plunging around the country. Colleges and universities are facing massive cuts. Tuition aid is being reduced even as student debt reaches new highs.
What is the New Jersey higher education system spending its money on? Five figure honorariums for commencement speakers.
Toni Morrison received $30,000 to give the commencement address at Rutgers University. This is actually a sign of restraint on the part of the university, as they paid "Snooki" from Jersey Shore $32,000 to speak at the school. Meanwhile, Kean University paid John Legend $25,000 to speak and sing two songs at their commencement ceremony.
New Jersey's schools might even be among the most conservative when it comes to wasting money. The University of Oklahoma paid noted scholar and philosopher Katie Couric $110,000 to speak in 2006.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, schools, for obvious reasons, are reluctant to disclose whether they have even paid a speaker at all.
