Executive Pay at UMass Keeps on Going Up
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Even as it’s getting more and more expensive to be a UMass student, it’s also getting more and more lucrative to lead the university system.
A new report from the Chronicle of Higher Education out today shows that pay for top administrators at the University of Massachusetts continues to be on the rise.
Dealing with a budget shortfall and less funding than they had hoped for in the state budget, UMass trustees last week raised tuition and fees by an average of 5.8 percent.
Last year, Robert L. Caret, the former UMass president, was 22nd in the nation when it came to total compensation, at $702,818. His base pay was $490,481. The rest came from bonuses and deferred compensation, according to the Chronicle.
For the 2013-2014 semester, he made $666,933.
Marty Meehan, formerly the head of UMass Lowell, took over the system last year. His contract included $769,000 for his first year, according to the Boston Globe.
To lead UMass Amherst, Kumble Subbaswamy made $483,620 last year, up from $441,681 the year prior and $363,605 the year before that.
J. Keith Motley of UMass Boston’s total pay has risen from $314,020 in 2012-2013 to $380,988 last year.
And lest we forget, as the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and WGBH reminded us earlier this year, top executives in the system are showered with perks.
UMass executives’ paychecks are not outside the norm, as the study finds schools in the state are doling out pay bumps that are in line with the rest of the country.
That’s what competition for top talent does, the chairman of the UMass trustees tells the Globe.
“We want to attract and retain special leaders—people who are driven to exceed expectations and outperform the competition,” Chairman Victor Woolridge says.
The nation’s highest paid president last year was the University of Houston’s Renu Khator, who took home $1,300,000. Nearly half of that, $600,000, came from bonuses and deferred compensation.
The sweetest gig at UMass, by the way? Basketball coach. Derek Kellogg, who has led the team at UMass Amherst since 2008, made $1,235,265 last year.
