Readers have noted that Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state who spoke recently at the University of Arkansas, backed out of a speech at Rutgers University in New Jersey after weeks of campus protest over her role in the war in Iraq. Rice came and went at Fayetteville with little hubbub, but that wasn’t the only big difference in the two appearances. Another was a whopping case of income inequality.
As first reported here Feb. 11, Rice was paid $170,000 to cover fees and expenses for her appearance at UA on March 5.
And how much was she to be paid to be commencement speaker at Rutgers? A piddling $35,000. Plus I think they were going to throw in an honorary degree.
What was it Lou Holtz said about Fayetteville? Still, even being in sight of the end of the world wouldn’t seem to justify a $135,000 pay enhancement. Air fares into XNA aren’t that high, are they? She drew about 3,000 people to Barnhill Arena and threw down on Vladimir Putin.