Correction appended
AU President Neil Kerwin was paid $666,390 during the 2011 fiscal year, according to Internal Revenue Service forms filed by the University.
AU spent 46 percent of the University’s $500 million total expenses in the same time period on personnel, which includes AU administration, faculty and staff, according to a budget plan submitted to the Office of Finance and Treasurer. Personnel salaries and benefits are the University’s largest expenditure.
The budget for the next two years will be announced in February.
A fiscal year is the 12-month period in which an organization operates under the same budget, according to the IRS. AU’s fiscal year begins May 1 and runs until April 31 of the following year.
Kerwin made $666,390 in 2010, which includes:
• base compensation
• bonus
• any other compensation from the University, according to IRS forms filed by the University last March, known as 990 forms.
Kerwin’s total compensation for 2010-2011 academic year was $838,313, but this figure includes:
• part of his retirement compensation
• nontaxable benefits, such as health care or housing.
The IRS forms said Kerwin worked 50 hours a week throughout the 2011 fiscal year.
Kerwin listed as 65th highest-paid private university president
The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Kerwin as the 65th highest-paid private university president nationwide for the 2009-2010 academic year. Kerwin’s total compensation of $797,143 for this time period was compared to those of 519 other university presidents, which included $165,802 in deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits. These are the most updated statistics comparing university presidents’ salaries across the nation.
The late Drexel University President Constantine Papadakis was the highest paid president at a private college in 2009 at a total compensation of approximately $4.9 million according to the Chronicle. This figure includes $32,450 of deferred compensation and $12,335 of nontaxable benefits.
Kerwin was also ranked as the third highest paid private college president in the D.C. area, behind George Washington University President Steven Knapp at almost $1.1 million and Georgetown University President John DeGioia at $911,918, according to the Chronicle. However, both figures include almost $150,000 of deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits for Knapp and roughly $156,000 for DeGioia.
Kerwin received salary raises
Kerwin’s salary has increased by almost $31,000 or approximately 5 percent each year from fiscal years 2009 to 2011. While this figure may account for inflation, the Board of Trustees approved salary raises for Kerwin due to his performance and achievements.
“Under [Kerwin’s] leadership, the university achieved or exceeded its goals during the review period, and the board sought to make sure his increase reflected that assessment,” Maralee Csellar from University Communications said in an email.
The Board of Trustees determines salary raises for University vice presidents, provost and president based on their performances. The board also works with consulting firm Mercer to ensure these administrators’ salaries are “competitive but not excessive,” Csellar said in an email.
The next three AU administrators with the highest salaries during fiscal year 2011 were:
• Donald Myers, corporate financial officer, vice president and treasurer
• Claudio Grossman, Washington College of Law dean and professor
• Scott Bass, provost
Myers, Grossman and Bass also received salary increases every year during this three-year period, according to the IRS forms.
AU currently allocates 19 percent of its expenditures to financial aid, according to the University budget plan. While this percent rose from last fiscal year’s 18 percent, AU is also allocating more financial aid toward need-based aid from merit scholarships, The Eagle previously reported.
Student Government is advocating for transparency in the budget, according to SG Sen. Eric Reath, the chairman of the SG Commission on University Budget Policy.
“More transparency will heighten the detail and research that the campus community can conduct before beginning conversations about budget priorities," Reath said in an email. “Good governance is always created in metaphoric sunlight.”
Correction: The documents with information on Kerwin's salary were from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), not the "International Revenue Service," as previously stated.
pjones@theeagleonline.com
