U. officials earn more in salary, benefits in FY98

President Judith Rodin made $548,374 last year, a 6.2 percent increase. University President Judith Rodin and Health System Chief Executive Officer William Kelley, the two highest-paid Penn administrators, both saw modest increases in their earnings in the 1998 fiscal year, the latest year available, according to information obtained from the University's federal tax filings. Rodin earned $529,677 in base pay for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998. She also received $18,697 in benefits and had an expense account of exactly $12,000. Rodin's combined salary and compensation package of $548,374 marks a 6.2 percent increase from the $514,878 that she received in the 1997 fiscal year. That year, her $498,536 salary alone ranked first among the nation's college presidents and her total compensation package ranked third nationally. The 6.2 percent increase is, however, less than half the size of the 13.7 percent increase that separated Fiscal Year 1996 from Fiscal Year 1997. Rodin earned $375,980 in 1994-95, her first year in office. "My salary is set by the Trustees? and I'm grateful for their confidence and support," Rodin said, attributing her large "span of authority" -- which includes ultimate control of the financially troubled Health System -- as partly responsible for a salary that continually places her among the nation's highest-paid college presidents. Again topping the list of Penn's highest-paid employees is Kelley, who also serves as dean of the Penn Medical School. Kelley's salary and benefits totaled $1,204,508 in FY 1998, up from $1,145,482. But Rodin said she recommended to the Trustees that neither she nor Kelley receive salary increases in Fiscal Year 2000 due to the Health System's recent financial crisis, which includes an estimated $150 million deficit for the fiscal year that ended in June. "I feel that we need to be responsive to the needs of the Health System," Rodin said. University spokesperson Ken Wildes said the University Trustees, who are responsible for configuring administrators' salaries, use data from comparable universities when determining how much Penn officials will make. "We believe that the annual compensation for the president and the officers is competitive for a teaching and research institution of our size, complexity and stature," Wildes said. The salary filed for Executive Vice President John Fry reflects an accounting error that artificially increased his compensation by including some payment he received in Fiscal Year 1999. The form lists Fry's salary as $425,000, but according to Fry, the figure includes compensation that he actually received in Fiscal Year 1999, making his pay appear larger than it was. Last year, Fry earned $310,004. In fiscal year 1996, he earned $243,480. The magnitude of the error in the tax filings and Fry's precise salary for FY 1998 were unclear as of last night. Next year's University tax filings will reflect the error by showing a 22.4 percent decrease in Fry's salary to approximately $330,000, which is less than his actual earnings by the amount of the accounting error. The tax filings also showed artificially high increases in the salaries of Rodin's chief of staff, Steve Schutt, and Vice President for Audit and Compliance Rick Whitfield. Former Provost Stanley Chodorow received a combined $251,166, but salary information was not given for former Interim Provost Michael Wachter or current Provost Robert Barchi. Vice President for Finance Kathy Engebretson earned $187,020 in Fiscal Year 1998, and Scott Lederman, the recently retired University treasurer, received $171,375 in total payment. Also cracking the $150,000 barrier was Vice President for Public Safety Tom Seamon, who raked in $163,727. After Kelley, the next five highest-paid University employees are all affiliated with the Health System. Surgery Professor Thomas Spray took in $950,000 in base pay plus $14,426 in benefits, followed by Surgery Professor William Potsic, Urology Professor Alan Wein, Neurosurgery Professor Paul Marcotte and Surgery Professor Lawrence Tom. While each professor earned over $700,000 in the time period covered by the filings, most of their compensation came from their clinical practices, not their University salaries.