A new report has been released to reveal the highest-paid private college presidents across the United States in 2021, and three Philadelphia university presidents made the list, writes Maddie Aiken for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Atop the list was Amy Gutmann, the former president of the University of Pennsylvania. She earned a total of $22.9 million that year.
Stephen K. Klasko, former president at Thomas Jefferson University, earned $3.4 million in 2021, tied for No. 5 with former University of Chicago president Robert J. Zimmer.
At No. 9 on the list was John A. Fry, president of Drexel University, who earned $2.6 million.
In 2021, 21 private college leaders earned more than $2 million.
Richard Vedder, an economist and professor emeritus at Ohio University, noted that salaries for top administrators have skyrocketed in the past few decades.
“Pay for workers in general has usually gone up a bit more than the rate of inflation. But in higher ed, the salaries at the very top have escalated rather aggressively or rather substantially in the last 25 or 30 years,” he said.
Vedder attributes these pay increases to higher tuition rates, more people attending college, and heightened challenges.
“To compensate for that, universities feel — with some justification — that they need to pay more,” Vedder said.
Read more about the highest-paid college presidents at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
_____
