Education

Executive Compensation at Public and Private Colleges

These data show the total compensation received by chief executives in two sectors: (1) public college and university systems, from the 2010-11 through the 2016-17 fiscal years, and in the 2018 through 2020 calendar years; and (2) private colleges, from 2008 through 2018.

All individuals who served as chief executive during those periods, including interim and acting leaders, are included. Oftentimes, more than one chief executive served at an institution during a given year. Presidents who served less than the full year are noted.

Compensation values for all employees reflect the compensation earned from the institution (and associated foundations) across a full fiscal or calendar year, regardless of the role or roles held by those employees during the full year.

Information about presidents’ tenures and prior employment were obtained from college websites, newspaper archives, or college offices. Photographs were obtained from college websites.

The Chronicle’s algorithm for determining “similar institutions” uses factors such as Carnegie Classification, endowment value, total expenditures, percent of expenditures spent on instruction, admissions rate, and religious affiliation, as well as enrollment, percent of graduate students, percent of undergraduates who are 25 or older, percent of Pell Grant recipients, and median SAT score.

Institutions’ total expenses, average tuitions, and faculty salaries come from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or Ipeds, and in the case of expenses, are for the most recent year available at the time the salary data were gathered — usually the academic year preceding the compensation year. Those data are excluded for certain systems.

Public-College Data

The Chronicle surveyed institutions to collect these public data. Our analysis generally includes all public doctoral universities (nonmilitary service) in the United States as well as all state college and university systems or governing boards with at least three campuses or 50,000 total students enrolled across the system in the most-recent academic year.

This analysis does not include systems, state boards, or administrative departments that oversee only technical or community colleges, nor does it include institutions in Puerto Rico. A limited number of system offices report relevant data to Ipeds. Likewise, said system offices don’t report institution-relevant data, such as average professor salary or tuition and fees, to Ipeds.

For chief executives who led a campus and system jointly, the Ipeds data to which their pay is being compared reflect data corresponding only to the main campus. Across the history of this project, The Chronicle has asked institutions to submit the values of various types of reportable compensation earned by their chief executives, from both the public entity and any nonprofit organizations associated with the public entity. To capture a representative and diverse sample, The Chronicle’s methodology to arrive at a universe of colleges to survey has changed over the last decade.

  • From the 2010-11 through the 2012-13 fiscal years, the survey universe was based on public research universities and affiliated systems with enrollments of at least 10,000, and universities with smaller enrollments that were state flagships.
  • From the 2013-14 through the 2016-17 fiscal years, the survey universe was based on the methodology detailed above. To ascertain doctoral universities in those years, The Chronicle used the 2010 update of the Basic Classification program, developed by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.
  • In the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed, the survey universe was based on the methodology detailed above. To ascertain doctoral universities in those years, The Chronicle used the 2015 update of the Carnegie Basic Classification program.
  • For the 2013-14 through the 2016-17 fiscal years, we have included on the profile pages of chief executives the names and titles of the five highest-paid employees at each institution, as provided by the institutions. For the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed, The Chronicle limited the collection of employee-compensation data to the three highest-paid employees.
  • From the 2012-13 through the 2016-17 fiscal years,The Chronicle elected to collect data reflecting the reportable compensation earned by former chief executives in the period following their final year as institution leader. The Chronicle continued to request that information in the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed. The value of nontaxable benefits is not included in the sum of total compensation for former chief executives across all respective years. The Chronicle asked institutions to disclose the value of “non-payroll compensation” in the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed for chief executives who earned such compensation that year.

Public-college compensation data are not directly comparable to data reported for private nonprofit institutions. (For more on private-college data, see below.) The Chronicle cautions against comparing public-college compensation across various years, given the changes in the formula used to calculate total compensation, as well as the change in the reporting period from fiscal to calendar year.

As of publication time, the following institutions had not submitted compensation data associated with their current and former chief executives to The Chronicle. Open-records requests sent to some of these institutions also had not been fulfilled by publication time:

  • Auburn University
  • City University of New York system office
  • Clemson University
  • CUNY City College
  • CUNY Graduate School and University Center
  • Eastern Michigan University
  • Florida A&M University
  • Jackson State University
  • Michigan Technological University
  • Montclair State University
  • Morgan State University
  • Nebraska State College System
  • New Jersey Institute of Technology
  • Old Dominion University
  • Purdue University Global-Davenport
  • Rutgers University at Camden
  • Rutgers University at New Brunswick
  • Rutgers University at Newark
  • Rutgers University system
  • State University System of Florida, Board of Governors
  • SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
  • Tennessee State University
  • Towson University
  • University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
  • University of Arkansas system office
  • University of California at Berkeley
  • University of California at Davis
  • University of California at Irvine
  • University of California at Los Angeles
  • University of California at Merced
  • University of California at Riverside
  • University of California at San Diego
  • University of California at Santa Barbara
  • University of California at Santa Cruz
  • University of California system office
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Illinois system
  • University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
  • University of Michigan at Flint
  • University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
  • University of New Orleans
  • University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  • University of North Carolina at Wilmington
  • University of Northern Colorado
  • University of Vermont
  • Western Kentucky University
Compensation components

Total compensation. The formula used to arrive at this value for chief executives has changed repeatedly in the last decade:

  • From the 2010-11 through the 2014-15 fiscal years, total compensation was ascertained by summing the values of “base pay,” “bonus pay,” “deferred paid out,” and “severance pay.”
  • From the 2015-16 through the 2016-17 fiscal years, total compensation was ascertained by summing the values of “base pay,” “bonus pay,” “deferred paid out,” “severance pay,” “remaining reportable,” and “nontaxable pay.”
  • For the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed, total compensation reflected the summed values of “base pay,” “bonus pay,” “deferred paid out,” “severance pay,” “remaining reportable,” “nontaxable pay,” and “non-payroll compensation.”
  • For former chief executives who continue to earn compensation from their institutions, since the 2012-13 fiscal year, total compensation has been determined by summing the values of “base pay,” “bonus pay,” “deferred paid out,” “severance pay,” and “remaining reportable.” For the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed, the value of “non-payroll compensation” was added to that formula.
  • For top-compensated employees, total compensation continues to be determined by collecting the values of reportable compensation earned by each employee. Reportable compensation encompasses “base pay,” “bonus pay,” “deferred paid out,” “severance pay,” and “remaining reportable.”

Base pay. The value of the total base compensation earned by the employee.

Bonus pay. The value of all bonuses and incentive compensation earned by the employee.

Deferred paid out. The value of this type of compensation, formerly called deferred compensation, is reported here when it becomes payable, is paid, or is employee-deferred in the relevant period.

Severance pay. Compensation made to the employee upon his or her resignation or firing, as determined by his or her contract, a separation agreement, or a legal settlement. This can include severance pay or other agreed-upon separation pay.

Remaining reportable. This catch-all field for reportable compensation not covered by the last four fields is available for the 2015-16 to the 2016-17 fiscal years and for the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed. Additional information can be ascertained by hovering on the “i” button.

Other pay. From the 2010-11 through the 2014-15 fiscal years, this value is the sum of the compensation figures reported as “deferred paid out” and “severance pay.” From the 2015-16 to the 2016-17 fiscal years and in the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed, “other pay” reflects the sum of those two fields and the addition of any values reported as “remaining reportable.”

Pay set aside. This is compensation deferred in a given period, to be paid out in future years. It includes contributions to supplemental executive retirement plans. It does not overlap with any compensation paid out in the reported year.

Retirement. This is payment made by a college or university on behalf of an employee to a retirement plan that is available to any employee during the fiscal year. It can include 401(k) plans, state pension plans, and other retirement plans that are broadly available.

Nontaxable benefits. This reflects the value of nontaxable benefits, including health and medical benefits, life insurance, housing provided by an employer, personal legal and financial services, dependent care, adoption assistance, tuition assistance, and cafeteria plans. It is available for the 2015-16 to the 2016-17 fiscal years, and in the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed.

Non-payroll compensation. This amount, available starting with the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed, refers to compensation released to an employee as the result of a business transaction facilitated through a contractor-contractee relationship, rather than an employer-employee relationship.

  • This amount would not be captured on the Form W-2. Non-payroll compensation might encompass services provided by a chief executive (or a former chief executive) for consulting, fund raising, or advising. Additional information can be ascertained by hovering on the “i” button. It is available for the 2018 calendar year and the years that followed.
About perks

The values of perks such as housing and auto benefits is reported in two fields: “Remaining reportable” and “Nontaxable pay.” However, to showcase the existence or absence of such perks, The Chronicle relies on checkmarks to display that information in a quick and intuitive manner. If a perk or perks are described within the hover box associated with “Remaining reportable,” and a perk is marked with a check mark, it should not be inferred that the employee receives two perks. Rather, the numerical-value element and the perk checkbox convey information about the same perk.

Private-College Data

Before reporting compensation in 2015, we reviewed data for the private nonprofit baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degree-granting and Title-IV-participating institutions with the 500 largest endowments, as reported to Ipeds. Some nonprofit colleges don’t report the value of their endowments to Ipeds, and those were excluded from our analysis. In 2015, The Chronicle tweaked an aspect of its methodology, to include institutions that primarily award baccalaureate degrees or above. The 2018 Calender year data revised the formula again to include institutions based on their expenditures rather than endowments, and included only those institutions with expenditures of $100-million or more in expenditures.

Compensation data were compiled from the Internal Revenue Service’s Form 990, which is filed by most nonprofit entities and are reported by calendar year. Some private nonprofit universities cite a religious exemption from filing the Form 990 and were therefore excluded from our analysis. The excluded institutions are Brigham Young University- Idaho, Brigham Young University- Provo, and Brigham Young University-Hawaii. DeSales University was omitted from the 2015 listing due to discrepancies in their 990. University president O’Connor’s salary for 2015 was $0.

Some Roman Catholic colleges whose presidents are members of religious orders pay no direct compensation to their chief executives, instead allocating money to the religious order. Compensation for these presidents may be reported as $0.

Names and titles of “key employees” provided for comparison are cleaned and clarified where possible, in other cases they appear as they did on the colleges’ Form 990s.

As of publication time, data was unavailable for the following institutions.

  • Chapman University
  • Davenport University
  • Loyola University New Orleans
  • National University
  • Norwich University
  • Stetson University
  • Tuskegee University
  • University of the South
Compensation components

Base pay: Base salary plus sick pay paid by the employer and employee contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan.

Bonus pay: Incentive pay and signing bonuses.

Nontaxable benefits: Health and medical benefits, life insurance, housing provided by the employer, personal legal and financial services, dependent care, adoption assistance, tuition assistance, and cafeteria plans.

Other pay: Miscellaneous pay and benefits, including severance payments, tax gross-ups (money an employer provides an employee for taxes paid on benefits), vacation leave cashed out, debt forgiveness, fellowships, employer-provided vehicles and parking, housing payments, travel, meals, moving expenses, entertainment, spending accounts, and club dues. Vested deferred compensation, meaning money set aside in previous years that was paid out to the employee in the current year, can also be included in other pay. May also include interest accrued on deferred compensation.

Deferred compensation, set aside: Deferred compensation set aside in the fiscal year covered that is to be paid out in future years. This includes contributions to supplemental executive retirement plans. Retirement may also be included in 2009-2012. This does not overlap with any compensation paid out in the reported year. Some of the compensation in this category may be counted again in the year in which it is paid out. (As this is not paid out during the reporting year, it is not included in “Total Compensation.”)


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