UC Davis adds highly paid official to boost image

The University of California, Davis, is adding an associate chancellor’s position at a $260,000 annual salary as part of a plan to improve the university’s image.

The Sacramento Bee reports the university hired Luanne Lawrence as associate chancellor for strategic communications earlier this year at a salary higher than any other campus communications chief in the University of California system.

The university’s image has suffered since a 2011 incident in which a campus police officer used pepper spray on students who were protesting tuition increases. Video of the incident went viral.

Lawrence says her job includes persuading potential students and donors that the university can compete despite decreasing state funding for higher education. The university also wants to boost enrollment by 5,000 students by 2020.