By Christiana SchmitzThe Daily Northwestern
University President Henry Bienen’s compensation increased by $82,984 in 2004-05, the second largest increase since his appointment in 1995, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education study released in November.
Bienen reported a salary of $650,000 for the 2004-05 tax year. Including benefits, such as $23,504 toward his retirement plan and $100,000 in deferred compensation, his compensation totaled $774,004.
The Chronicle’s yearly report studied administrators at 183 public colleges and public-college systems and 670 private colleges across the country, publishing their salaries for 2004-05, the last year for which there is financial data available.
Bienen’s salary ranked eighth on the list of 33 presidents at research universities with “very high” research activity.
Bienen was the second-highest-paid university president in the Big Ten, topped by Martin Jischke, the president of Purdue University, whose compensation totaled $880,950. Bienen was the highest-paid university president in the state, ahead of Don Randel, the University of Chicago president, who receives $630,247, and Richard Herman, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign president, who earns $400,000.
Bienen’s total compensation also exceeded that of presidents at Washington University in St. Louis ($695,132), Dartmouth ($479,233), Harvard ($595,871) and Princeton ($595,982). It fell just short of Yale president Richard C. Levin’s total compensation ($778,935) and New York University president John E. Sexton’s $798,989 compensation.
His total compensation increased in the same year that tuition went up by 5.4 percent.
Bienen’s salary is based on the recommendation of a Compensation Committee, composed of members of the university’s Board of Trustees. Their recommendation must be approved by the entire Board of Trustees, said Al Cubbage, vice president for university relations.
“A lot of corporations and private institutions do this as well,” Cubbage said.
To determine a salary recommendation, the Compensation Committee reviews data on the salary and benefits of other university presidents, and receives input from consulting firms, said Northwestern Vice President for Administration and Planning Marilyn McCoy. They also consider a presentation by the president, who describes his activities over the past year, McCoy said.
“Each year the president establishes his goals and then reports to the Compensation and Executive Committee on his achievement of those goals,” she said.
According to the Chronicle, salaries of university presidents are increasing overall. The number of universities that pay presidents more than $500,000 increased by 53 percent, the study said, while the number of institutions considered increased by 17 percent. Salaries at public universities increased in particular, with almost twice as many public university presidents making more than $500,000 in 2004-05.
Reach Christiana Schmitz at [email protected].
