Changes at Proctor's
The scaffolding outside the old Proctor’s Theater building on Fourth Street in downtown Troy is scheduled to come down over the next couple of weeks. It was put up after bricks fell from the RPI-owned structure in July 2005.
The removal announcement came after Mayor Harry Tutunjian began to apply pressure to the Institute, urging it to clear the street. He cited comments by the city engineer, Russ Reeves, who noted that there are no signs of material or debris from the façade, and recommended the immediate removal of the scaffolding.
The city closed the street Wednesday so that Rensselaer engineers could inspect the building and examine the options. Acting Assistant Vice President of Government and Community Relations Allison Newman said that a little bit of work was needed, and that it should be complete in time for the Victorian Stroll on December 3.
Game company moves
Agora Games recently joined the ranks of Rensselaer Incubator graduates, moving into offices in downtown Troy. The company, founded in 2003 by Michael DelPrete ’01, works on single-player computer games, adding multiplayer functionality. Since its inception, it has worked on games such as Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam and with big-name firms like Nintendo and Konami.
The new location, above Dunkin’ Donuts at 359 Broadway, was chosen because of its close proximity to RPI. This provides both a resource and a pool of prospective employees to the company.
Presidents' salaries rise
According to a November 24 report in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the average compensation package of college and university presidents has increased, with 112 top officials receiving over $500,000 for the 2004-05 academic year, an increase of about 53 percent, though this year’s data includes information from an additional 17 percent of schools. Top among them is E. Gordon Gee of Vanderbilt University, who received a package of $1.2 million. Following closely were RPI President Shirley Ann Jackson, Aram V. Chobanian of Boston University, and Harold J. Raveche of Stevens Institute of Technology; each of them was paid over $900,000. In spite of the high numbers, many universities are having trouble paying their administrators enough to keep them around. The three major Iowa state universities have lost eight presidents in the past 19 years to other institutions that paid significantly more.
By comparison, the median salary among the CEOs of the 350 largest U.S. corporations was $6 million in the past year.
