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Notes
Data here may vary from what appeared in print, due to updates and corrections received after publication.
N/A Not applicable
* Did not serve as chief executive for the full year.
a The president declined to take a salary, often because of a vow of poverty.
b This president's salary is paid directly to his/her religious order.
c The president died during the given year.
d The president's salary was omitted from tax filings.
Methodology
These data show the total compensation received by chief executives in 2020 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.
Percentage change values are for the total compensation compared to the prior year. If either value was $0 or the president was not on the list last year, the change is listed as “N/A”. Values are based on the president’s calendar year earning and may include compensation from multiple institutions in the prior year.
For presidents that weren’t required to complete Schedule J, pay is listed as “other” for all reportable compensation, and “nontaxable” for all non-reportable compensation.
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.
2020 data was unavailable for the following institutions.
- Baker College
- Touro College
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.