Ranks of Millionaire College Presidents Rise

WASHINGTON
Curious where those extra tuition dollars are going? One place to look would be the pockets of college presidents.

Five presidents have cracked the $1 million compensation barrier, including Dr. John R. Silber, the now-retired president of Boston University, according to an annual survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more are sure to follow. Nine college presidents earned more than $900,000 — a figure none broke in last year’s report.

All were at private universities, and the figures are for fiscal 2004, the most recent information available for private schools. More recent data on public universities, for the current academic year, shows salaries are rising there, too. Leaders of 23 public institutions are being paid $500,000 or more this year, up from 17 a year ago.

Dr. Donald Ross of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., topped the list at $5.04 million. However, all but $477,000 of that was deferred compensation awarded after 34 years as president.

He was followed by Dr. Audrey K. Doberstein of Wilmington College in Delaware ($1.37 million) and Dr. Gordon Gee of Vanderbilt ($1.33 million).

Silber, who now holds the title of president emeritus at BU, earned more than $1.25 million in fiscal 2004, including a $513,000 payment in place of sabbaticals he was unable to take during his presidency.

In past surveys, the only presidents to break $1 million did so in their final years of service, their compensation boosted by some kind of severance or retirement package. This year’s survey, however, features two million-dollar presidents — Ross and Gee — who are still on the job.

Dr. Mary Sue Coleman of the University of Michigan is the highest paid public university president this year with $724,604 in compensation, followed by Dr. David P. Roselle of the University of Delaware ($720,522 in fiscal 2004, the most recent figures provided in his case) and Dr. Mark G. Yudof of the University of Texas system ($693,677).