Expert on economic mobility was paid $50,000 for speech
First-class airfare, too; Appearance lasted 4.5 hours
The following article appeared in the December 4, 2023, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
UNC Charlotte paid economic mobility expert Raj Chetty $50,000 + first-class airfare for speech last month
Raj Chetty, the Harvard economist whose work mobilized Charlotte’s leadership to improve economic mobility, collected $50,000 for a speech here last month — and UNC Charlotte agreed to pay for his first-class airfare.
In a Nov. 14 keynote speech at UNC Charlotte’s uptown campus — part of the university’s Chancellor’s Speaker Series — Chetty praised Charlotte for its progress in addressing economic opportunity for low-income residents since his 2014 study ranked the city 50th out of 50 cities on economic mobility. The ranking spurred private-sector and elected leaders to focus on the issue.
4 1/2 hours of work: Chetty’s contract with UNC Charlotte, obtained by The Ledger under North Carolina’s public records laws, called for him to spend 4.5 hours in a series of events in Charlotte on Nov. 14. Starting at 3 p.m., it said he would spend an hour with UNC Charlotte students at the student union. Then, after an hour-long break, he was to spend 2.5 hours at the main event uptown for a “meet and greet” (30 minutes), a “moderated Q&A” (90 minutes) and a “post-event reception” (30 minutes), which was scheduled to wrap up at 7:30 p.m.
The contract called for UNC Charlotte to pay him $25,000 the month after it was signed, in January 2023, with another $25,000 in early November. It also called for the university to “provide and pay for First class airfare, hotel room and ground transportation (for 2 people if needed).” The contract is with New York-based speakers bureau Gotham Artists. [view Chetty contract here]
Chetty is widely considered one of the country’s leading experts on economic mobility. He’s the co-founder of Opportunity Insights, a “non-partisan, not-for-profit research and policy institute” that has partnered with leaders in Charlotte, Seattle, Minneapolis, Detroit and other cities. Opportunity Insights was started in 2018 with big grants from major foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($15.1M) and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ($15M), the philanthropic organization started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. —TM
Related Ledger articles:
“Economic mobility professor praises Charlotte’s efforts” (🔒, Nov. 15)
“Taking the temperature on upward mobility,” (🔒, June 9; 🎧 also a podcast)
“Is Charlotte really 50th out of 50 in economic mobility?” (🔒, March 2, 2022)
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