Compensation of Presidents of Private Institutions

This database shows the compensation received by the chief executives at each of 670 private colleges, plus 114 specialized institutions.

The figures, unless otherwise noted, are for 2004-5, the most recent fiscal year available. The Chronicle compiled the information from the Form 990 that each institution filed with the Internal Revenue Service. According to IRS regulations, tax-exempt entities must release a copy of the form to those who formally request it. The form requires nonprofit organizations, like colleges, to list, among other financial data, the pay and benefits of their officers, directors, trustees, and key employees.

The Chronicle's survey includes only those private institutions classified in 2005 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as Research Universities (very high research activity), Research Universities (high research activity), Doctoral/Research Universities, Master's Colleges and Universities (large, medium, and small), Baccalaureate Colleges-Arts & Sciences, and these categories of Special-Focus Institutions: schools of art, music, and design; schools of business and management; schools of engineering and technology; schools of law; and medical schools and medical centers. The Carnegie Foundation's 2005 classifications include more institutions this year than in previous years. Thus, the number of institutions in the survey has increased.

Institutions omitted from the tables include a handful of colleges that claim religious exemptions from filing Form 990: Baptist Bible College and Graduate School, Brigham Young University, Concordia College at Moorhead, Harding University, Houghton College, Indiana Wesleyan University, Saint John's University (Minn.), Southern Wesleyan University, and Wisconsin Lutheran College.

The Chronicle was not able to include Lane College, Sheldon Jackson College, and Tougaloo College in this year's survey because they failed to provide their IRS Form 990 to the newspaper after repeated requests. By law, the documents must be provided within 30 days of a request. Dillard and Xavier Universities are not included because they received a filing extension from the IRS for institutions affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Also not a part of this year's survey are some specialized institutions that operate as part of a larger organization and do not file their own Form 990.

A key to the listings:

• Expenditures: Taken from Line 17 of Form 990, it shows the college's total expenses in the 2005 fiscal year.

• Revenue: Taken from Line 12 of Form 990, it shows total revenue in that fiscal year.

• Pay: Defined as all salaries, fees, bonuses, and severance payments that each person received.

• Benefits: Includes health and pension plans. Colleges also are required to include all forms of deferred compensation that were paid or designated in that year.

• Expense compensation: For college presidents, this includes fringe benefits that the IRS requires those leaders to count as income, including the fair-market value of cars and houses supplied by the college for personal use; club memberships; flights on college-owned aircraft; supplemental life insurance; and perquisites for children and spouses, like payments for tuition or travel. If an institution reported that its leader had received no expense compensation, that category has been omitted from the institution's entry.

• Total compensation: The sum of pay and benefits. Expense pay is not included, because of inconsistencies in how individual institutions account for it. For instance, some institutions include the fair-market value of what it would cost to rent the house that the president lives in. But many colleges and universities have interpreted the IRS guidelines to mean that they do not have to report the rental value if they state on the federal tax form that the president is required to live in the house as a condition of his or her employment.

• Asterisk: Indicates that the person is no longer the president of the institution.

• Two or more presidents listed: Each served part of the year.

In general, the information appears here as it was reported on Form 990. The Chronicle notes exceptional circumstances, like a partial-year payment or a severance package. The titles of some people, such as that of interim president, may have changed since the forms were filed.

Ben Dunbar, Samantha Henig, Sam Kean, Ben Leubsdorf, Marisa López-Rivera, Eugene McCormack, Anne K. Walters, and Paula Wasley contributed to this report.

Compensation of Public-College Presidents

This database shows the compensation, from institutional and private sources, of chief executives of 183 public colleges and public-college systems. The institutions surveyed include the 147 public universities with total enrollments of at least 10,000 that are classified as either "Research Universities" or "Doctoral/Research Universities" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, as well as the university systems associated with them.

In the District of Columbia and Alaska, which do not have public research institutions with enrollment of at least 10,000, figures for the largest public four-year institutions are shown. The figures are the latest available and in most cases cover 2006-7. Figures for five institutions at which there are vacancies at the top (Indiana University at Bloomington, the State University of New York at Albany, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Western Michigan University) reflect the most recent president's compensation rather than that of the interim chiefs.

Figures for four institutions (the California State University System, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University) cover 2005-6 because these institutions had not determined presidential compensation for this fiscal year by the closing date of this survey.

Four universities consider themselves quasi-private institutions (Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, the University of Delaware, and the University of Pittsburgh) and are not legally required to provide current salary information. Temple and the University of Delaware's compensation information was determined from the Form 990 they each filed with the Internal Revenue Service because of their special status. Because of IRS reporting requirements, those figures are for 2004-5. Penn State provided current base salary, but would not disclose any additional compensation, such as retirement contributions. The University of Pittsburgh fully cooperated with the survey.

Total-compensation figures include salary and benefits from institutional and private sources, annualized amounts of deferred compensation, and the full potential amount of bonuses. In many cases, university presidents and chancellors will not receive the full bonus, but the survey assumed full-bonus level because governing boards of universities do not typically determine bonus amounts until later in the fiscal year.

Retirement pay is the amount contributed by the institution or state to a president or chancellor's defined benefit plan in this fiscal year. In some states, including Illinois and New York, an employee's choice between various retirement plans is considered private under public-records laws, so retirement pay could not be determined in a few cases.

Housing and car allowances are counted toward total compensation for the purposes of this survey. The use of a university- or state-owned house or car, however, is not. Use of such a car or house, as well as benefits such as club dues and expense accounts, are listed as part of compensation but no dollar amount for such benefits are added to total compensation.

Compensation of Presidents of Higher-Education Associations

This database shows the compensation received by the chief executives at 32 major higher-education associations that are members of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat. The secretariat is coordinated by the American Council on Education and brings together organizations that represent different sectors and functions of the postsecondary institutions. Also included is the compensation received by the chief executive of the Career College Association, a group that represents for-profit colleges, but which is not a member of the secretariat.

The figures, unless otherwise noted, are for 2004-5, the most recent fiscal year available. The Chronicle compiled the information from the Form 990 that each organization filed with the Internal Revenue Service. The form requires nonprofit organizations to list, among other financial data, the pay and benefits of their officers, directors, trustees, and key employees.

A key to the listings:

• Expenditures: Taken from Line 17 of Form 990, it shows the group's total expenses in the 2005 fiscal year.

• Revenue: Taken from Line 12 of Form 990, it shows total revenue in that fiscal year.

• Pay: Defined as all salaries, fees, bonuses, and severance payments that each person received.

• Benefits: Includes health and pension plans. Associations are also required to include all forms of deferred compensation that were paid or designated in that year.

• Expense compensation: This includes fringe benefits that the IRS requires officials to count as income, including the fair-market value of cars and houses supplied by the association for personal use; club memberships; supplemental life insurance; and perquisites for children and spouses, like payments for tuition or travel. If an association reported that its leader had received no expense compensation, that category has been omitted from the institution's entry.

• Total compensation: The sum of pay and benefits. Expense compensation is not included, because of inconsistencies in how individual filers of the form account for it.

• Asterisk: Indicates that the person is no longer chief executive of the association.

• Two or more leaders listed: Each served part of the year.

In general, the information appears here as it was reported on Form 990. The Chronicle notes exceptional circumstances, like a partial-year payment or a severance package, when the organization did so on its tax form. The titles of some people may have changed since the forms were filed.

Ben Dunbar, Samantha Henig, Sam Kean, Ben Leubsdorf, Marisa López-Rivera, Eugene McCormack, Anne K. Walters, and Paula Wasley contributed to this report.

Institutions are included in The Chronicle's survey according to their classifications in 2005 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The classifications were based on degree data from 2003-2004.

Research Universities

Included among these institutions are those that award at least 20 doctoral degrees per year (excluding doctoral-level degrees that allow recipients to enter professional practice, such as the J.D. or M.D.). Research institutions, which are differentiated based on an explicit measure of their amount of research activity, are divided into three categories: Research universities (very high research activity); Research universities (high research activity); and Doctoral/Research universities.

Master's colleges and universities

These institutions award at least 50 master's degrees per year, but fewer than 20 doctoral degrees, or none at all.

Baccalaureate colleges-Arts & Sciences

Among institutions where bachelor's degrees represent at least half of all undergraduate degrees, those with at least half of bachelor's-degree majors in arts and sciences are included in the "Arts & Sciences" group.

Special-focus institutions

These institutions award at least 75 percent of their undergraduate or graduate degrees in a single field or set of related fields. The survey covers five of nine special-focus categories: schools of art, music, and design; schools of business and management; schools of engineering; schools of law; and medical schools and medical centers.