Salaries for university presidents continue to soar with a handful even approaching the million dollar mark.
Base pay without benefits for President Hunter R. Rawlings III, however, decreased to $204,670 for 1998-1999 from $207,990 in the previous academic year, the lowest base pay in the Ivy League.
The executive committee of the Board of Trustees determines the president’s salary on an annual basis, “pending the review of all the pertinent information,” said Barbara Krause, secretary of the Corporation.
“They look at a lot of things including salary and overall compensation at peer institutions; they consider performance,” said Henrik N. Dullea ’61, vice president for University relations. “There’s also a conversation between the Board and the individual.”
Dullea refused to comment on the recent decrease in Rawlings’ salary. “That’s a subject between the Board and the President. That’s a factor they work out together,” he said.
Rawlings’ benefit package, however, at $220,760, ranked third among all universities. Harold Tanner, chair of the Board of Trustees, declined to comment on the amount to the Chronicle of Higher Education, stating, “We report what we’re required to report.”
With benefits, Rawlings’ earnings total $425,430. The median salary for presidents at research universities is $393,288, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The highest paid university president, with benefits, is Harry C. Payne of Williams College with a total salary of $878,222. University of Pennsylvania President Judith Rodin ranks second with her earnings totaling $655,557.
Currently 74 presidents earn above $300,000 with seven taking home more than half-million, according to the Chronicle for Higher Education. Cornell ranks behind the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Princeton and Columbia in base pay plus benefits.
Archived article by Beth Herskovits