The Chronicle of Higher Education is out with its annual list of what private college presidents earn, and three Virginia executives are in the top 100. Sandy Hausman has that story.
Reporter Sandhya Kambhampati says the median compensation for private college presidents nationwide is more than $436,000 – up more than five percent from the previous year. Using data from the Internal Revenue Service for 2013, the weekly publication found three leaders of Virginia schools in the top hundred when it came to total compensation.
“Jerry Falwell, Jr. from Liberty University made a little over $900,000 in 2013. He’s number 48 on our list," she says. "Edward Ayres from University of Richmond made a little bit over $768,000. The president of Randolph Macon College received $663,000 and he ranks number 95 on the list.”
Nationwide, 32 private college presidents received in excess of a million dollars.
“Long-time Columbia University President Lee Bollinger earned the most with $4.6 million in total compensation, including $1.26 million in deferred compensation,” Kambhampati says.
And deferred compensation is often substantial.
“This money often serves as a retention tool for presidents, who can forfeit these earnings if they resign before a specified date on their contract,” she explains.
Numbers for public universities were released earlier this year, and they were predictably lower than those of private sector presidents.
In 2014, two public college presidents earned more than a million, according to the Chronicle. "Rodney A. Ericson from Penn State earned over $1.4 million. He was the highest paid that year, whereas private compensation, we have 32 millionaires,” Kambhampati says. The president of Texas A&M also made the millionaires club.
For 2014, the public university list was topped by Virginia Tech’s president, who retired with a one-time payment of over a quarter of a million dollars, bringing his annual total to more than $745,000. George Mason’s top man earned about $615,000. The president of VCU got more than $553,000, and UVA’s top executive received $494,000 a year in salary, bonus and other benefits.