I saw a couple of places yesterday that NYU paid Jack Lew a severance package, but I didn’t follow up or click. This morning I read at The Right Coast how much that severance package was – $685,000! So then I thought – hey, NYU has more in common with SEC schools than I thought. Lew had a good contract. But no! The New York Times article makes it very clear:

The payment, which a university official acknowledged on Monday, is considered unusual by outside experts in benefits and raises questions about why a tax-exempt university would give a large exit bonus to an executive who was departing voluntarily.

. . .

University officials defended the additional lump-sum payment, which was not required by his original employment contract, citing Mr. Lew’s role in addressing some of the university’s major problems at the time. [my emphasis]

Wow. At least fired coaches who continue to receive pay have good legal grounds!

via Prof Smith