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News

What Presidents Make

Some public-college leaders take home millions, with perks.

By Dan Bauman and Jacquelyn Elias July 17, 2020
Exec Comp story art
Photo illustration by The Chronicle

In many states, the top-paid public employee can be found in the athletic department of the flagship university. At 67 institutions, the paycheck for an athletic director or coach far outpaced that of the university’s chief executive.

A typical leader of a public institution of higher education made 4.4 times as much as the average full professor on that campus in 2019. Read The Chronicle’s annual report to see the outliers at the top.

Public colleges produced 19 millionaire leaders in 2019, far outpacing the average total compensation, $544,136, for all chief executives within the sector last year.

Housing and automobile benefits for leaders of public colleges are ubiquitous within higher education. Visit chronicle.com/compensation to see how your chief executive compares with the rest.

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2019 Executive Compensation

What Presidents Make

Some public-college leaders take home millions, with perks.

By Dan Bauman and Jacquelyn Elias | July 16, 2020

Public colleges produced 19 millionaire leaders in 2019, far outpacing the average total compensation, $544,136, for all chief executives within the sector last year. The compensation data are part of The Chronicle’s annual survey of public-college leaders. Data were collected for 275 chief executives at 231 public colleges and systems. The Chronicle identified six trends from this year’s collection effort. Further information on pay history, as well as a full breakdown of compensation, can be found online at chronicle.com/compensation.

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A version of this article appeared in the July 24, 2020, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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About the Author
Dan Bauman
Dan Bauman is a reporter who investigates and writes about all things data in higher education. Tweet him at @danbauman77, or email him at dan.bauman@chronicle.com.
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About the Author
Jacquelyn Elias
Jacquelyn Elias is a news applications developer for The Chronicle of Higher Education. She builds data visualizations and news applications. Follow her @jacquelynrelias, or email her at jacquelyn.elias@chronicle.com.

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