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Ex-provost Steven Hoch makes $245K teaching part-time

Philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx touted sharing the wealth in class-divided Europe. So what would he think about $245,000 a year to teach one class on the Russian revolution?

That's what Washington State University is paying Steven Hoch. He was briefly hired as the school's provost, but the arrangement fell apart after a hallway altercation with a colleague. A twist in Hoch's contract turned him into an extremely expensive part-time history professor.

The incident left some questioning the university's hiring practices, while faculty members praise the addition of a respected scholar — despite the irony of the subject matter — for a department they say is short-staffed.

Hoch, 57, is a well-regarded historian who has written books and articles on Russian history and socioeconomics.

"We're happy to have another colleague, and we badly need a Russian historian," said Steve Kale, interim chair of WSU's history department. "It's just not rational to be upset about the salary situation."
Hoch was less than two months into the job as provost when he took a personal leave Sept. 23 following an altercation at a staff meeting, which ended in a shoving incident with another administrator.
Read entire article at AP