Senator Chuck Grassley says a new survey of college presidents’ salaries shows "the executive suite seems insulated from budget crunches."
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s analysis shows the pay for presidents at public universities grew by 7.6 percent, while the leaders of private colleges saw their salaries go up an average of six percent. "In these hard economic times, apparently belt-tightening is for families and students, not university presidents," Grassley says.
Grassley notes the salaries of college presidents and coaches "regularly outpace inflation." While Grassley says the salary hikes might be justified, the senator says there needs to be more transparency about pay packages so the public can decide for itself whether the pay is appropriate.
Iowa State University president Gregory Geoffrey received a 6.3 percent pay raise in August, for an annual salary topping $423,000.
University of Northern Iowa president Ben Allen’s pay boost was higher – 6.7 percent — and his salary will be $320,000 this year.
University of Iowa president Sally Mason did not receive an increase in her base salary of $450,000, but she could qualify for a bonus of up to $80,000. In August, the Board of Regents set a new policy tying bonuses for all the three presidents to performance.