FILE PHOTOThe time of the one-million-dollar chancellor is rapidly approaching. According to a recently released survey by the Chronicle for Higher Education, the heads of four private universities earned more than $800,000 each in the 2002 fiscal year. If the pay that the four received for serving on corporate boards is included, then at least three of the four are already making a $1 million a year.
Washington University’s Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton was included among the 27 college presidents who now make more than $500,000 a year. According to the survey Wrighton, banked $590,671, not including extras, in the 2002 fiscal year. Wrighton’s salary makes him the 12th highest paid president or chancellor of a private doctoral institution.
Some students question the need for such a high salary. Sophomore Evan Prince suggested that Wrighton’s salary might be better used in other areas.
“I think that the perception about Wrighton might be, ‘What does he do?’ and I think maybe he doesn’t deserve that much,” said Prince. “The money could be better used in other areas like hiring faculty.”
Sophomore Dan Jury agreed, using history to explain his thoughts.
“The other day, Jim Burmeister, the executive director of University Relations, was telling us how former Chancellor Robert Brookings and Samuel Cupples donated nearly six million to the University back when it was getting started,” said Jury. “To give you an idea of how much that it is, it was close to the time when Brookings Hall was built, and it only cost $250,000 to build.”
Jury provided a suggestion.
“Maybe he could donate to set up some scholarships,” said Jury. “We have great faculty here, but some of the best students are still going to the Ivy Leagues because they get bigger scholarships from those schools. How about the chancellor donates money for ten annual full tuition scholarships?”
Others, like sophomore Matt Seiler, thought Wrighton’s salary was appropriate.
“Given what he has done for the school, as well as what they are paying people at similar institutions, I don’t think it’s a big deal,” said Seiler.
Wrighton talked about his salary.
“I do feel that it is highly appropriate to ask, ‘What is the proper compensation for the chancellor?'” said Wrighton. “At this point, I think the University’s compensation is appropriate in general terms, in that we assess performance every year, benchmark against the relevant market, and deal with many recruiting situations where we know what it takes to recruit at all levels in the University.”
One issue raised by the Chronicle for Higher Education is that over the past few years, the pay for presidents of colleges and universities has risen at a faster rate than the pay for faculty at many institutions. At the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, for example, faculty salaries increased 12.7 percent between the 1997-’98 and 2001-’02 school years. Rensselaer’s President Shirley Ann Jackson earned 133 percent more in the 2002 fiscal year than her predecessor, R. Byron Pipes, earned five years earlier. She is the highest paid president, with a current salary of $891,400.
Though no statistics relating overall faculty pay to Wrighton’s salary are available, Wrighton commented on the issue.
“Generally, faculty compensation has increased somewhat more than for the staff in the last several years, but each person associated with the University is evaluated by his or her supervisor, and compensation increases are provided consistent with performance, assessment of the ‘the market’ and consideration of the available resources,” said Wrighton.
Shelly Weiss Storbeck, managing director of the higher education division of A.T. Kearney Executive Search, talked to the Chronicle about the difficulties of being a college chancellor or president and about the disparity between faculty and presidential pay.
“The lifestyle [of a chancellor] is a real negative for most people,” said Storbeck, “You do 12- or 15-hour days, with every 15 minutes of your life parsed out to somebody else.”
Storbeck cited potential problems.
“It does create a little unrest among people who are paid one-tenth of what the president is paid who work just as hard,” she said. “Over time, when the salaries of senior administrators go up at a significantly faster rate than they do for faculty, I think that is excess.”
Wrighton said that he appreciated the opportunity to work for the University for many reasons outside of his salary.
“It is a privilege to serve as chancellor, and the rewards beyond compensation are significant, including the opportunity to work with talented students, faculty and staff,” he said. “I am fortunate to have this opportunity to serve.”
Institutions with presidents paid similar amounts to Wrighton include Northwestern ($590,708), American University ($620,360), Yale University ($654,542) and Brown University ($432,900).