Urology prof. tops Penn payroll

The salaries of Penn's five highest-paid employees -- all Medical School faculty -- are among the leading totals in the Ivy League, according to a survey published in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education. Professor Alan Wein, who chairs the Medical School's Urology Department, received $979,000 plus $20,500 in benefits for the 1994-95 school year. And School of Medicine Dean William Kelley received Penn's second highest salary -- $844,670 plus $26,550 in benefits. Kelley is also chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. These figures place Penn third among Ivy League schools. The five highest-paid employees at both Cornell and Columbia universities receive more than those at any other Ivy League school, according to the Chronicle. The highest paid employee in the Ivy League is Cornell's Wayne Isom, chairperson of the school's Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Wayne received nearly $1.8 million in the 1994-95 school year. All five of Cornell's highest-paid employees, who are all faculty members of the university's Medical School, earned more than $1 million. The second highest-paid employee in the Ivy League works at Columbia. Surgery Professor Eric Rose earned almost $1.5 million two years ago. Penn Medical Center spokesperson Lori Doyle pointed out that at both Penn and other Ivy League institutions, the high medical faculty salaries are largely made up of patient fees -- and are not paid entirely by the universities themselves. "Although they get an income for teaching, the majority of their income comes from their clinical revenues," Doyle said. Tax documents obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian reveal that Wein received $949,000 from his practice and only $30,000 from the University for teaching. Medical School professors Eugene Flamm, William Potsic and Thomas Spray round out the five highest paid employees at Penn, each taking home approximately $700,000 for the 1994-95 school year. Their salaries also come largely from their practices, according to the Internal Revenue Service's Form 990, a tax document listing universities' expenses. Of Spray's $675,000 salary, $652,500 came from his practice at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. And over $600,000 of both Flamm's and Potsic's salaries come from their patients as well. "The more patients they see, the more their clinical income will be," noted Doyle, who added that the salaries also depend on the field in which the doctor practices. Doyle cited the example of a neurosurgeon like Flamm, who makes more than a neurologist since the latter does not perform surgery. She pointed out that Wein in particular is world-renowned in his field. "He has people come in from all over the world," she said. "If you asked any of his patients, they'd say his salary is worth it."

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