NYU Spending $1.1 Million to Renovate President’s Residence

New York University, which has come under fire in recent years for providing lavish perks to top administrators, is spending $1.1 million on a makeover of its presidential residence, according to The New York Times. The penthouse duplex in Greenwich village will house incoming NYU President Andrew Hamilton, who arrives in January from the University of Oxford in England.

Pay and perks for campus leaders has become a contentious issue at several universities amid rising tuition and student debt. NYU, one of the country’s most expensive colleges, drew fire in 2013 for making loans on generous terms to top administrators and star faculty to buy vacation homes, and students and faculty members have protested the latest renovation plan. A university spokesman said the project “has nothing to do with any one president” and that the duplex also serves an event space to host fundraisers and important campus visitors.