Salaries of college and university presidents have been escalating for years to the consternation of students and their parents, who are shouldering rising tuition and debt.
Less well documented is the rising value of presidential perks—during and after their terms.
Contracts obtained for a new academic study and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal offer a rare glimpse into these presidential compensation packages. Highlights include guarantees to make presidents the most well paid professor on campus after they leave office, six-figure annual retention bonuses, $500,000 sabbaticals and a second contract—and paycheck—for spouses.
In 2013, the last data available, private college presidential pay jumped 5.6% from the year before to an average of $436,429, according to an annual survey of compensation by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Public school presidents saw a 7% increase to $428,250. A total of 34 school presidents—32 from private schools, two from public ones—earn more than $1 million a year.
But a new wrinkle in those contracts are the perks that began to show up in the last few years, said James Finkelstein, a professor at George Mason University who has been reviewing presidential contracts since 1998.