The former president of the University of Pennsylvania was the highest-paid leader of a private college in 2021, according to The Chronicle’s annual analysis of executive compensation at private nonprofit institutions. It is the highest payout documented since 2008, when The Chronicle began collecting data on such compensation.
In her last year at the university, before stepping down in early 2022 to become the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann received almost $23 million in total compensation. About 89 percent of that amount came from deferred compensation, set aside over the course of her 18-year tenure as president. In its Form 990, filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the university states that the compensation was “in recognition of Dr. Gutmann’s outstanding service as Penn’s president, as well as for retention purposes.” In 2020, Gutmann also received a $3.7-million loan from the university, on which she has not made any payments, according to the university tax forms.
Gutmann’s base pay in 2021 was $1,564,547, which was the fifth-highest that year and a 1.5-percent increase from her 2020 base pay. Gutmann has been among the 10 highest-paid presidents in The Chronicle’s analysis since 2012, and her base pay increased by 45 percent from 2012 to 2021. Among 2021’s highest-paid presidents, only Columbia University’s Lee C. Bollinger has appeared in the top 10 with the same consistency.
The average total compensation for all 312 presidents in The Chronicle’s analysis 2021 is $952,159, compared with the $907,625 average for 306 presidents in 2020.
The 2021 fiscal year is the most recent year for which 990s are available. For more about 2021’s top-paid private-college presidents, and the biggest earners over time, see the following charts.
To see the full list of top earners, click here.
