Dive Brief:
- The median salary of private college presidents continued to rise from 2012 to 2013, according to the latest salary and compensation data from The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual report.
- Columbia University’s Lee C. Bolinger had the largest compensation package, at $4.6 million, followed by the University of Pennsylvania’s Amy Gutmann ($3.1 million), High Point University’s Nido Qubein ($2.9 million), and Yeshiva University’s Richard M. Joel ($2.5 million).
- The New York Times reports that the overall median salary for private college presidents was up 5.6% in 2013, indicating that governing boards remain willing to pay what it takes to keep their top executives, even while cutting other positions or freezing wages.
Dive Insight:
The New York Times reported some explanations for total compensation at the very top. Bollinger’s included a large incentive pay package, for example, and Joel’s included six years of deferred compensation. At High Point, where Qubein gets paid far more than the leaders of peer institutions, trustees defended the compensation because of his results. When it comes to base pay, New York University’s John E. Sexton jumps ahead of Bollinger and Gutman. After them, Leo I. Higdon Jr., of Connecticut College also earns more than $1 million. The number of presidents who earn more than $1 million in total compensation dropped slightly to 32 from 36 from 2012 to 2013.
The Chronicle’s annual executive compensation data offers fuel to the fire of faculty, students, and staff arguing for changes at colleges and universities. Trustees maintain, however, that the high pay is necessary to keep talented individuals in academia.