It wasn't that long ago that North Carolina's governor was
disparaging liberal arts majors.
"I'm looking at legislation right now – in fact, I just instructed my
staff yesterday to go ahead and develop legislation – which would
change the basic formula in how education money is given out to our
universities and our community colleges,” McCrory told radio host Bill
Bennett, who was education secretary under President Reagan. “It's not
based on butts in seats but on how many of those butts can get jobs."
The Republican governor also called into question the value of
publicly supporting liberal arts majors after the host made a joke about
gender studies courses at UNC-Chapel Hill. "If you want to take gender
studies that's fine, go to a private school and take it,” McCrory told
the radio host. “But I don't want to subsidize that if that's not going
to get someone a job."
But today comes
news that Gov. McCrory has found an innovative way to make liberal arts degrees pay handsomely--become a McCrony.
Young Republicans who helped elect
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory have been rewarded with big salaries in
his new administration.
Matthew McKillip was named this week as
chief policy adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos.
Records show the 24-year-old McKillip received a $22,500 raise in April,
bringing his taxpayer-supported salary to $87,500.
Records show
24-year-old DHHS Communications Director Ricky Diaz got a $23,000 raise
in April, boosting his state salary to $85,000.
What were Mr. McKillip's qualifications before assuming a position that pays more than many liberal arts faculty make?
Before joining state government in January, McKillip worked less than a
year for McCrory's 2012 campaign and transition team. Before that, he
spent 11 months as a research assistant at the American Enterprise
Institute, a conservative think tank, according to his page on the
business networking site LinkedIn. He graduated from Georgetown
University with an English degree.
Apparently, subsidies for some liberal arts majors are okay, so long as the profess sufficient fidelity to Gov. McCrory.
