4 Presidents of Virginia Private Colleges Top National Average for Pay
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Page 1 of 2 4 presidents of Virginia private colleges top national average for pay By Karin Kapsidelis December 4, 2016 The former president of the University of Richmond was one of 39 private college chief executives paid more than $1 million in 2014, according to an analysis by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Edward L. Ayers, who stepped down in June 2015, earned $1,044,367. Three other Virginia presidents received more than the national average for compensation, which was $512,987 for presidents working the full calendar year. 2015-16 VIRGINIA EMPLOYEE SALARY DATABASE Second in the state was Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., who was paid $926,634. Ferrum College President Jennifer L. Braaten, who retired last summer, earned $632,323, and Washington and Lee University President Kenneth P. Ruscio, who will retire Dec. 31, was paid $609,538. Hampton University President William R. Harvey was fifth in total compensation at $478,420. Earning the least among chief executives included in report was Regent University Chancellor Pat Robertson, whose total compensation was listed as $72,635. Regent spokeswoman Mindy L. Hughes said Robertson volunteers his services and that amount represents reimbursement for some of his travel expenses. The Chronicle report includes former Hampden-Sydney College President Christopher B. Howard, who earned $417,934. Howard became president of Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania on Feb. 1. Also on the list is Jo Ellen Parker, who earned $216,657 before she left Sweet Briar College in August 2014 — just six months before the attempted closure of the women’s college. Mary Baldwin University President Pamela Fox — caught in a controversy last week by the decision to add a coeducation residential program — earned $325,813. The president of the other women’s school, Hollins University President Nancy Oliver Gray, was paid $299,184. Gray will retire in June. The data are based on the latest available federal Form 990 tax filings, which are for calendar year 2014. The report on total compensation includes base pay, bonuses and benefits. Also included are housing benefits, vacation leave cashed out, vehicles and vested deferred compensation. As a result, year-to-year benefits can vary widely. For example, Randolph-Macon College President Robert R. Lindgren earned $323,702 in 2014. In 2013, he earned $663,159 as the result of a retention incentive of $350,000. R-MC spokeswoman Anne Marie Lauranzon said the incentive was paid in deferred compensation on condition he remain at Randolph-Macon. Lindgren was third on the 2013 compensation list behind Ayers, at $768,608, and Falwell, at $900,474. In 2012, Ayers earned just over $1 million, including deferred compensation. Page 2 of 2 Nationally for 2014, Jack P. Varsalona, president of Wilmington University in Delaware, received the top pay at $5,449,405, with more than $4.6 million of that in deferred compensation. A comparison of compensation for presidents who served all of 2013 and 2014 at 377 schools found an 8.6 percent increase, from an average of $489,626 to $531,817. For all private college presidents in the 2014 analysis, including those who served less than the full year, the average compensation was $489,927. In Virginia, compensation is comparable in the private and public sectors for presidents who make the top of the pay scale. But more public presidents are in that top tier. An analysis of state employee compensation by the Richmond Times-Dispatch found nine public university presidents were among the Top 25 best paid. The 2015-16 figures are more recent than those in the Chronicle report, but do not differ greatly from previous years. The Times-Dispatch reported Sunday that Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao received the most total compensation at $900,940. Other public university presidents in the Top 25 were: Christopher Newport University President Paul Trible, $844,245; University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan, $733,800; Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands, $717,500; George Mason University President Angel Cabrera, $664,881; Virginia Military Institute Superintendent J.H. Binford Peay, $612,500; Old Dominion University President John Broderick, $533,799; College of William & Mary President W. Taylor Reveley III, $520,000; and James Madison University President Jonathan Alger, $493,882. Other top university administrators and coaches also make the Top 25 list. .