University President Joanne Glasser is among the highest paid university presidents in the state.
She was paid nearly $421,000 in salary and benefits for the 2007-08 school year, which was her first on the Hilltop, according to a tax form filed by the school. Her salary alone was $408,840.
That places her roughly in the top-5 highest paid private university presidents in Illinois, behind the presidents of Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Each year, the Chronicle of Higher Education publishes information about the salaries of university presidents.
According to the Chronicle, the median salary for chief executives, or presidents, of private institutions that grant up to master’s degrees is $242,050 for the 2008-09 school year. That puts Glasser at the higher end of the spectrum.
While her salary may seem high, it is in the same range of schools comparable to Bradley, such as Drake University, whose president receives $406,402.
Salaries at private colleges, including Bradley, are normally kept confidential, but the school is required to notify the IRS how much its top earners make on the 990 form, which is public record.
The 2007-08 school year is the most current year available.
Former University President David Broski earned $402,507 his final year on campus, which equates to about a 5 percent increase to Glasser’s starting salary.
In the rest of the country, 23 private university presidents made more than $1 million and 110 made more than $500,000, according to the Chronicle.
During the last five years, presidential pay in the United States has increased by 14 percent, far beyond most tuition increases, which leads many to question why pay is so high.
“I think the answer you’d get from the governing boards that set these salaries is that it’s a market and it’s increasingly hard to find these people,” Jeffrey Selingo, editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, told the New York Times. “That said, almost every year, presidential salaries have gone up faster than inflation, and faster than tuition, which rankles some people on campus.”
At Bradley, Glasser is the highest earner, followed by men’s basketball coach Jim Les, who earned $419,414 in salary and benefits in the 2007-08 school year.
Two years earlier, Les earned $262,905.
The other top non-officer earners at Bradley are: Paul Mehta, chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Department, at $230,945; Robert Scott, chairman of the Economics Department, at $201,388; Aaron Buchko, professor in the Business Management and Administration Department, at $221,175; Robert Weinstein, president of the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center and economics professor, at $192,453.
The university’s top earning officers after Glasser are: Gary Anna, vice president for business affairs, at $235,968; Peter Johnsen, former provost, at $231,617; William Englebrecht, former vice president for advancement, at $194,935.
Those numbers all reflect salary plus benefits.
