Wiley salary on low end of list

by Carl Jaeger

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 00:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education released an annual survey Monday reporting the total compensations for U.S. university presidents, chancellors and rectors.

The survey analyzed 1,017 postsecondary institutions that included public, private and technical universities.

University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley earned $341,495 in total compensation during the 2006-07 school year, according to the report, which includes one car provided by the state, one house, $25,300 in retirement pay and club dues.

UW System President Kevin Reilly earned $358,240 during the 2006-07 school year, and received the same housing, vehicle, retirement pay and club dues as Wiley.

The report found that, nationally, eight public university presidents now make more than $700,000 each year, while 12 private university presidents make more than $1 million annually.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said although the salaries look significant, university presidents "are individuals who have executive management responsibilities for major enterprises."

"If you want good people in this position, you want them to stay for a good amount of time," Giroux said. "To do that you need to have competitive salaries and total compensation."

Giroux said university presidents are in charge of operations, oversight, money and employees, and are "making heavy-duty decisions on a daily basis for an enterprise that is critical to the much broader economy of our entire state."

The UW System, Giroux said, is a $4 billion enterprise with 30,000 to 40,000 employees who serve 170,000 students.

Giroux also said in "comparison to our competitive pool," the salaries of top UW employees are "not competitive in many instances with other major universities."

Despite Wiley's salary shortfall, Giroux said the university continues to thrive, citing UW's recent top research funding rankings.

"Go find a private company that's spending $900 million a year on research and development and look what their CEOs make," Giroux said.

Former University of Delaware president David Roselle — who retired this year — was the top-earning public university president in the country, with a 2006-07 salary of $847,687, according to the report.

The survey reported Northeastern University president Richard Freeland as the top earner overall. Freeland earned $2.9 million during the 2005-06 academic year, according to the survey.