Amy Gutmann made $675,000 in her first year as Penn's president, but she's got a long way to go to catch up with her predecessor, who was still on the payroll even though she was not president in that year.
Gutmann's total compensation for the fiscal year 2005 - which ended on June 30 of that year - was $675,000 with $92,000 total benefits, tax reports show.
But former President Judith Rodin, whose last day as president was the day before the fiscal year started, got paid over $1 million in the same period, the records indicate. Rodin was listed as a full-time employee on the forms.
Penn spokeswoman Lori Doyle said that Rodin was given "deferred compensation" after a successful decade as president. Doyle added that "the awarding of deferred compensation is common for retiring university presidents, governing boards and trustee committees" and that it is given "only if goals are met."
As president, Gutmann oversees the University and the Health System, with a combined budget of $4.5 billion.
Comparable nationwide figures were not immediately available, but former Wilmington College President Audrey Doberstein had been the nation's highest compensated university head in the previous year, with a salary of about $1.37 million.
Vanderbilt University President Gordon Gee followed closely in 2004, with a compensation of almost $1.33 million.
Doyle said the president's pay is set by the University Board of Trustees on the recommendation of the board's compensation committee. The compensation committee takes salaries paid at peer and comparable institutions into account, Doyle added.
"Executive compensation at Penn is competitive with comparable leadership roles in similarly-sized private research universities," she said.
But Raymond Cotton of the Washington-based Mintz, Levin law firm, who specializes in presidential compensation and contracts, said the figure of $675,000 seems low for someone of Gutmann's position.
"People who are at that level tend to get paid considerably more than that," he said.
Cotton added, though, that the board of trustees might start a new president at a salary lower than that of a successful and experienced outgoing one like Rodin.
He said that if the board is pleased with Gutmann's performance, it would likely increase her compensation.
Rodin made about $350,000 in her first year at Penn.
Cotton added that the marketplace for such positions is becoming more competitive, which plays a role in driving up salaries.
The board of trustees also approves the annual budget, which includes proposed employee salaries. As president, Gutmann helps participate in the process that results in that proposal.
Gutmann said good employee compensation is important for retaining staff members, but it is not the only consideration.
Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Thomas Spray was the highest-paid Penn employee in fiscal year 2005, with compensation of almost $2.78 million.
Executive Vice President of the Health System and Dean of the School of Medicine Arthur Rubenstein received more than $1.75 million for that year.
University Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli was paid $492,736.
"I think we keep people here largely because of . creating a really good climate," Gutmann said. "But if we don't pay them adequately, that sends the wrong signal."
