Dr. Daniel McKeown, an astrophysics lecturer at UCLA, made headlines when he claimed that his $70,000 annual salary was too low for him to afford to live in Los Angeles, resulting in him being technically homeless. He went public with his financial struggles in September and gained attention after a video discussing his situation went viral. Subsequently, McKeown was placed on administrative leave by UCLA and had his courses taken away, which he believed to be in retaliation for his remarks about his pay and the university.
McKeown stated that his department head, Stuart Brown, failed to approve his doctor’s recommendation for him to teach online indefinitely, instead insisting that he return to teaching in person. This ultimatum was impossible for McKeown to meet as he was homeless due to his low salary. He shared that he had attempted to renegotiate his contract with the department in order to afford living in Los Angeles, but Brown allegedly did not care about his financial struggles and undervalued the importance of fair pay for physics educators.
In his public statements, McKeown expressed concern that the low wages for lecturers at UCLA could discourage current graduate students in physics and dissuade undergraduates from pursuing careers in the field. He criticized the university’s prioritization of money over the well-being of its faculty members, claiming that his knowledge and dedication to teaching were not being appreciated by the institution’s leadership. McKeown’s situation exemplified the challenges faced by educators in expensive cities like Los Angeles.
Despite McKeown being placed on leave, he continued to teach remotely from a friend’s place in San Diego and shared his Zoom lectures on YouTube. He emphasized the lack of compassion and understanding from UCLA’s leadership, accusing them of retaliating against him for speaking out about his financial struggles. The lecturer’s story drew attention to the issue of low wages for academic employees and the difficulties faced by those trying to make ends meet in high-cost areas like Los Angeles. UCLA has yet to comment on the situation or provide a response to the allegations made by McKeown.
