DAVIS, Calif. — The former chancellor of the University of California, Davis, who resigned after being placed on leave amid allegations of misconduct, will return to the campus in September teaching at a salary comparable to the one she earned as campus leader.
University officials told the Sacramento Bee that Linda Katehi will be paid $318,000 on a nine-month contract to teach electrical and computer engineering, as well as women and gender studies.
That’s about the same rate as the $424,000 annual salary she received as chancellor.
The newspaper said her salary appears to make her the highest paid faculty member in either department, based on the most recent UC salary data available to the public.
A critic of Katehi, Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, tweeted Saturday “this golden parachute deal is an insult to students and families struggling to afford college.”
A message seeking comment from Katehi has not been returned.
She resigned last August following an investigation into her role in using university money to counter negative publicity about UC Davis after a 2011 episode in which campus police officers used pepper spray against student protesters.
The investigation found that Katehi played down her knowledge of and role in the university’s hiring of social media consultants to minimize negative information online about the school and herself.