Rodin's '94-'95 pay was second-highest in Ivy League

Defending salareis, U. admin.Defending salareis, U. admin.says most school presidentsDefending salareis, U. admin.says most school presidentsdeserve more pay for work University President Judith Rodin earned $375,980 during her first year in office, making her the second highest-paid Ivy League president for the 1994-95 school year. According to a survey published this week by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Yale President Richard Levin jumped from eighth place in the Ivy League for the 1993-94 school year to first place in 1994-95. With salary and benefits, Levin brought in $387,138 -- more than double the $169,615 salary he received the previous year. Rodin's salary included $350,000 in base pay and a benefits package totalling $25,980. Her salary was slightly higher than former Interim President Claire Fagin's $346,919 total in 1993-94. But former President Sheldon Hackney pulled down $676,574 for his last year in office in the 1992-93 school year. Hackney's high salary included a bonus compensating him for his 12-year career as chief administrator at Penn. The standard benefits package that every University employee receives includes health care, life insurance and a dental plan -- totalling about $20,000, according to University spokesperson Ken Wildes. Wildes added that Rodin's benefits are no different -- with the exception of her residence, Eisenlohr Hall. Wildes said Rodin's salary, which is set by the Board of Trustees, is in line with the salaries of other university presidents. "It needs to be a competitive salary in the marketplace," he said. "Judith Rodin is asked to be the CEO of a $2.2 billion-a-year corporation." Wildes added that presidents of many non-Ivy schools make significantly more each year than Ivy League presidents, including Rodin. "Penn is a large corporation and one would arguably say that the president's salary is quite reasonable," Wildes said. He also noted that university presidents must try to meet the demands of many different constituents. Wildes noted that according to an informal survey he conducted, more than 20 constituent groups -- ranging from students and faculty to alumni and area businesses -- need Rodin's attention on a regular basis. "In my view, none of these presidents make what I think is a fair salary. [The salaries] are considerably less than what they would be in the business world," Wildes said. "They are pushed and pulled in a lot of different directions." The Chronicle surveyed 1994-95 tax documents from 479 private universities and colleges to obtain its results. The highest-paid university president in the nation was Howard University's Franklyn Jenifer. Jenifer, who resigned amidst faculty criticism in June 1994 to become the president of the University of Texas at Dallas, received $800,318 in salary and benefits for the 1994 calendar year. William Richardson, the president of Johns Hopkins University, received a $250,000 bonus on top of his regular salary for the 1994-95 school year, making him the nation's second highest-paid president. Richardson received the bonus when he left the university in August 1995 to head the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. His total salary amounted to $631,063. Dartmouth President James Freedman received the third highest salary in the Ivy League, earning $300,000 in pay and $56,588 in benefits for the 1994-95 school year. His salary was the fourth highest among presidents of "doctoral" universities, which the Chronicle designated as smaller than "research" institutions. The newspaper classified Penn as a research university. Wildes emphasized that presidents' salaries are usually in line with the demands carried by the position. "Those salaries don't even come close to the responsibilities these people have," Wildes said. "The trustees of the universities ask their presidents to do an awful lot. They have a huge responsibility."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.