Dr. Raymond Burse, the interim president of Kentucky State University, has given up more than $90,000 from his yearly salary, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.
The money from the pay cut will instead go to university employees earning minimum wage, improving the hourly rate from $7.25 an hour to $10.25.
This is not a publicity stunt," Burse told the Herald-Leader. "You don't give up $90,000 for publicity. I did this for the people. This is something I've been thinking about from the beginning."
Burse served as Kentucky State's president between 1982 and 1989 before working for 17 years as an executive for General Electric Co. Upon returning to the university for this stint as interim president, Burse immediately began considering ways to improve the working conditions for other university employees.
"My whole thing is I don't need to work," Burse told the Herald-Leader. "This is not a hobby, but in terms of the people who do the hard work and heavy lifting, they are at the lower pay scale."
Burse's salary dropped from $349,869 to $259,745. The decision to increase the hourly minimum wage for university employees will continue beyond Burse's tenure as interim president, as the university is expected to adopt the rate of $10.25 per hour full-time.