How Much Are Private-College Presidents Paid?

Methodology

These data show the total compensation received by chief executives in 2019 at private colleges with expenditures of $100-million or more.

All individuals who served as chief executive during this period, including interim and acting leaders, are included. Oftentimes, more than one chief executive served at an institution during a given year. Presidents who served less than the full year are noted.

Compensation values for chief executives reflect the compensation earned from the institution (and associated foundations) across a full fiscal or calendar year, regardless of the role or roles held by those employees during the full year.

Compensation data were compiled from the Internal Revenue Service’s Form 990, which is filed by most nonprofit entities and are reported by calendar year. Some private nonprofit universities cite a religious exemption from filing the Form 990 and were therefore excluded from our analysis. The excluded institutions are Brigham Young University- Idaho, Brigham Young University- Provo, and Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

Some Roman Catholic colleges whose presidents are members of religious orders pay no direct compensation to their chief executives, instead allocating money to the religious order. Compensation for these presidents may be reported as $0.

2019 data was unavailable for the following institutions.

• Adelphi University
• Baker College
• Calvin University
• Campbellsville University
• Columbia College Chicago
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at Daytona Beach (Fla.)
• Long Island University
• New York Institute of Technology
• New York University
• Pacific University
• Pepperdine University
• Roosevelt University
• Seattle Pacific University
• St. Lawrence University
• University of the Incarnate Word

Compensation components

Base pay: Base salary plus sick pay paid by the employer and employee contributions to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan.

Bonus pay: Incentive pay and signing bonuses.

Nontaxable benefits: Health and medical benefits, life insurance, housing provided by the employer, personal legal and financial services, dependent care, adoption assistance, tuition assistance, and cafeteria plans.

Other pay: Miscellaneous pay and benefits, including severance payments, tax gross-ups (money an employer provides an employee for taxes paid on benefits), vacation leave cashed out, debt forgiveness, fellowships, employer-provided vehicles and parking, housing payments, travel, meals, moving expenses, entertainment, spending accounts, and club dues. Vested deferred compensation, meaning money set aside in previous years that was paid out to the employee in the current year, can also be included in other pay. May also include interest accrued on deferred compensation.

Deferred paid out: The value of this type of compensation, formerly called deferred compensation, is reported here when it becomes payable, is paid, or is employee-deferred in the relevant period. Because this amount is already included in either “Base Pay” or “Other Pay,” it is not included in “Total Compensation.”

Pay set aside/retirement: Deferred compensation set aside in the fiscal year covered that is to be paid out in future years. This includes retirement. This does not overlap with any compensation paid out in the reported year. Some of the compensation in this category may be counted again in the year in which it is paid out. (As this is not paid out during the reporting year, it is not included in “Total Compensation.”)