Bollinger Salary Increases Sharply in 2006-07

Columbia President Lee Bollinger’s total compensation rose over half a million dollars in the past year, according to a report released last week, a rise Bollinger explained as a planned adjustment to his retirement package.

Bollinger made $1,411,894 in total compensation for that year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual report on the salaries of university presidents, which examined compensation from the 2006-2007 fiscal year. That made him the fifth-best compensated private university president, behind only David Sargent of Suffolk University, who made $2,800,461, Vanderbilt University Chancellor E. Gordon Gee, with $2,065,143, Henry Bienen of Northwestern University, with $1,742,560, and Albert J. Simone of the Rochester Institute of Technology, who made $1,661,675. Bollinger’s total compensation increased by about $642,169 over one year. His salary alone grew by $200,000.

Bollinger’s total compensation raise, authorized by the board of trustees, stemmed largely from a hike in his expense account, from $29,728 in 2005-2006 to $500,610 in 2006-2007.

According to the editor of the Chronicle’s report, the compensation statistics will come under scrutiny during tough economic times.

“This year, students, parents, trustees, and lawmakers are likely to take a closer look at whether presidents are worth the cost given how worried families are about affording tuition as everyone is feeling a bit poorer,” Jeffrey Selingo, editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, wrote in a statement.

But a footnote in the report revealed that “benefits include credits for supplemental retirement income that are based on performance and subject to vesting,” meaning that much of the increase seen in the report can be attributed to the addition of retirement benefits.

“Benefits expanded because trustees approved a retirement program,” Bollinger said in a phone interview on Thursday. “A lot of this is in the form of retirement, and it was a long-term contract, and so that’s the significant component.”

Bollinger maintained that his salary is not outside of the typical range for private university presidents, but declined to comment further.

“Within the range of salaries of presidents, this is within the same ballpark of retirement plans, and one has to realize this is a two-plus billion dollar institution with a major medical center and a huge amount of work to be done,” Bollinger said. “I’m not the one to justify my own salary.”

An official University statement gave a similar explanation.

“It is important to note that the reported compensation for the 2006-07 academic year reflects a change under a new program to provide supplemental retirement income, subject to vesting,” the statement read. “President Bollinger’s salary and total compensation remain below that of leaders of other peer institutions.”

joy.resmovits@columbiaspectator.com