Leaders living large on higher education

Along with the house, Caret earns a $348,100 salary and a $12,500 car allowance.

Like other presidents at public universities in Maryland, he lives in an impressive residence and earns six figures at the expense of taxpayers and students.

But college governing boards say they must reward presidents for their expanding duties and offer competitive packages to recruit top talent.

The salaries of state college presidents and chancellors nearly doubled in the past decade, from an average of $166,000 to $300,000, according to statistics obtained by The Examiner through a Maryland Public Information Act request.

While presidents keep earning more, the students continue to shell out more: Tuition for full-time students jumped 74percent, from $3,800 in 1998 to $6,600 this year.

As the University System of Maryland grapples with a potential $80 million reduction in state funds to help offset a $1.5 billion state budget deficit, system leaders have floated several scenarios to alleviate the crunch: a 10 percent tuition increase, course cancellations, a hiring freeze, student aid reduction and the delay of building maintenance.

But no one has suggested skipping the raises for the system?s 11 college presidents, which officials have done in two of the last five years.

Walking to class one recent morning, Kevin Giedraitis, a lanky freshman at Towson University, took a wild guess at what his college president earns.

“$100,000?” he ventured.

Try three times that.

“Wow, I don?t know what he does for that,” Giedraitis said. “But I do know we are paying so much to go here.”

Public universities, meet corporate culture.

For his part, Caret notes high presidential salaries around the country, including the $1 million contract Ohio State?s president recently signed.

“I have empathy for students and their tuitions, and presidential salaries have grown dramatically. In some ways, it?s out of control,” he said.

“But I fully earn my salary, so I?m not apologetic.

“And even if my salary were cut in half, it wouldn?t make a difference in tuition.”

A CHANGING ROLE

The jobs of public university presidents demand more than ever, with a greater emphasis on courting donors, building partnerships with the private sector and fundraising, much like what their private-school counterparts have done for years.

“The need to raise funds for the institution wasn?t part of the job for the last 50 years,” said Claire Van Ummersen, vice president for the Center for Effective Leadership at the American Council on Education, which lobbies Congress on behalf of universities.

“Presidents are spending much more time away from the campus and raising funds, not only for operations but for construction needs,” Van Ummersen said. “Presidents say they don?t have downtime. Campuses are operated year-round and on weekends.”

Colleges also must compete now with other universities and businesses willing to pay quadruple what schools offer.

“These salaries don?t come anywhere near what the corporate equivalent would be for a $100 million corporation,” said Greig Mitchell, vice president of administration and finance at Salisbury University.

“Plus, how many corporations is the chief executive concerned about the safety and welfare of thousands of young people 24/7?”

William Kirwan, University System of Maryland chancellor, said he doesn?t believe state colleges are trying to pattern themselves after the private sector but are responding to the growing list of duties presidents must perform.

“The old stereotype of an ivory tower where a president spends 90 percent of his time on campus, that?s just not the world we live in anymore,” he said. “The president is engaged in outside activities involving philanthropy and business ventures. The state expects the universities to be engaged in economic development and to spur economic growth. You can?t do that unless you spend a lot of time working with private sectors.”

Some education observers believe the so-called “commercialization” of higher education sends the wrong message.

“The basis for comparison for presidential salaries is commonly not appropriate because they are often compared with corporate CEOs, and the vast majority of colleges are not-for-profit,” said John Curtis, research and public policy director for the American Association of University Professors.

The salaries of chief executives in higher education increased by more than 35 percent from 1995 to 2006, while the salaries of faculty increased only 5 percent, an AAUP study found.

In Maryland, the average faculty professor at a public university earns $86,055, while state college presidents and the system chancellor make between $240,000 and $450,000. In addition, presidents get a car and a house, or a $12,500 yearly vehicle allowance and a $35,000 yearly stipend for their homes.

Allowing presidential salaries to eclipse professors? earnings by so much hurts morale among the rank-and-file faculty, Curtis said.

It also threatens the philosophy behind higher education called “shared governance,” in which the president makes decisions in tandem with professors and a board of trustees, he said.

“It raises a question of priorities: Are we investing in a single individual or an institution?” he said.

COMPETITION FOR CANDIDATES

Presidential search consultants paint what they describe as a more practical picture of supply and demand when it comes to a shrinking pool of talented college presidential candidates.

“The college presidency is the most difficult CEO position in the country,” said James Fisher, a former Towson University president who now works as a consultant for 300 universities.

“A university is not a democracy. What they have, in effect, is a corporation.”

With new U.S. Census figures ranking Maryland as the wealthiest state, the Board of Regents, which oversees the system?s 11 universities, must offer competitive compensation to attract qualified leaders, said Fisher, who earned $27,000 a year when he assumed the presidency of Towson in 1969.

Universities recruit sitting presidents from around the nation because governing boards want to see a demonstrated ability to fundraise and manage hundred-million-dollar budgets.

It?s a hard job, college presidents and search consultants say, and not everyone is cut out for it.

Temple University in Philadelphia tried to recruit Towson?s Caret, and other colleges have approached Thelma Thompson, president of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.

It works the other way around, too: Maryland recruited College Park President Dan Mote from University of California at Berkeley, where he served as vice chancellor.

David Ramsay worked as vice chancellor at University of California, San Francisco, before becoming president of University of Maryland, Baltimore.

A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES

Maryland?s college presidents earn more than 74 percent of the country?s university chiefs.

“We have to pay them that amount, or else we wouldn?t be able to recruit them,” said Clifford Kendall, chairman of the Board of Regents.

Cutting presidential salaries or forgoing pay raises would have little effect on the system?s $3.8 billion budget, said Mitchell, Salisbury?s vice president for finance.

“We feel we are paying competitive but not excessive salaries to our presidents,” Kirwan said.

But some educators question the priorities of universities willing to pay exorbitant salaries for athletic coaches.

At University of Maryland, College Park, for instance, coaches make four times more than the president.

Terps basketball coach Gary Williams? $1.8 million contract was extended after he met the competitive benchmark by taking his team to the NCAA tournament last season.

Football coach Ralph Friedgen rakes in $1.7 million with the help of endorsements.

“It?s another question of priority. The president may be overpaid, and the coach is making several times that, so what are our priorities?” asked Curtis, ofthe AAUP.

STATE FUNDING FLIP-FLOP

Twenty years ago, 60 percent of the system?s budget came from the state and the rest from tuition. Today, the opposite is true, as the burden of financing education has shifted to students.

The average in-state tuition for a student at a public university in Maryland totals $7,045 a year. Tuition last increased in 2005.

“Tuition is a huge issue. We need more money, but I don?t think the president?s salary is why tuition is high,” said Andrew Friedson, president of the Student Government Association at University of Maryland, College Park.

Mitchell, Salisbury?s finance vice president, agrees.

“How much impact does a single expense on a six-digit level have on a $100 million budget?” he asked.

The General Assembly created a commission two years ago to study higher education funding so schools could better predict how much money they can expect from the state each year. The commission is expected to release its recommendations to Gov. Martin O?Malley and state legislators later this year.

Tuition, room, board and fee totals

Bowie State University: $12,826

Coppin State University: $11,502

Frostburg State University: $13,567

Salisbury University: $13,912

Towson University: $14,670

University of Baltimore: $6,934*

University of Maryland, Baltimore: $12,986

University of Maryland, Baltimore County: $17,003

University of Maryland, College Park: $16,468

University of Maryland, Eastern Shore: $12,238

University of Maryland, University College: $230 per credit hour*

* Room and board not offered

Home sweet home

Former Towson University President Mark Perkins grabbed headlines in 2002, when he was forced to resign after he spent more than $1 million of taxpayers? money to upgrade his university-owned house with a $25,000 plasma-screen television and an $80,000 elevator.

The Board of Regents approved the purchase of the $850,000 house for Perkins so he could entertain potential donors and lawmakers. Perkins stepped down after serving less than a year on the job.

Towson President Robert Caret now lives in that infamous two-story brick home in Baltimore?s upscale Guilford neighborhood.

And the elevator is still there.

“It would be foolish to take it out, so we use it when appropriate,” Caret said.

System Chancellor William Kirwan invites donors, lawmakers and business executives to dinner parties at his $1.2 million, 12,000-square-foot house in Baltimore County at least twice a week, he said.

Private donations financed his house.

“I?m the CEO of the system, and I?m expected to help the system and institutions by helping them raise funds and build a strong base of support,” he said.

“One of the ways we do that is through entertaining.”

The state college presidents pocket $12,500 a year for car allowances or drive state-issued cars. Kirwan drives a Ford 500. Frostburg State University?s Jonathan Gibralter drives a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee. David Ramsay, president of the University of Baltimore, drives a Volvo. ? Kelsey Volkmann

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