By Mark Mueller, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
At a time of soaring college debt and steady increases in tuition, the presidents of the nation’s public colleges earned nearly 7 percent more in 2013-2014 than in the previous fiscal year, according to an annual survey.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, a national publication that covers the industry, found the typical public college president earned just over $428,000 in the 2014 fiscal year, up from $401,000 the year before.
Topping the list was Rodney A. Erickson, the former president of Penn State University, who took in nearly $1.5 million in his final year at the helm. Another former president, R. Bowen Loftin of Texas A&M University, earned just over $1.1 million in 2013-2014, according to the survey.
The Chronicle’s analysis includes 238 campus leaders at 220 public colleges. Not all schools responded to the survey.
Rutgers University President Robert L. Barchi was the highest paid public college president in New Jersey and the 12th best compensated in the nation, the Chronicle found.
Barchi earned total compensation of $739,624, including $650,000 in base pay and a $90,000 bonus. Though he donated the bonus back to the university — after deducting the taxes owed — it counts against his total income.
The figures released by the Chronicle do not include other perks of the job, including the use of a home and a vehicle.
Barchi, for example, lives in a university-owned home in Piscataway valued at $1.1 million.
Joel S. Bloom, president of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, ranked second in New Jersey and 34th in the nation, with total compensation of $590,000 in the 2014 fiscal year.
Photos: New Jersey Innovation Institute launch ceremony held at NJIT in Newark
Joel S. Bloom, president of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, made $590,000 in fiscal year 2014. His salary ranked 34th in the nation among public college presidents, according to new survey. He is seen here in a 2014 photo. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Nancy Cantor, the chancellor at Rutgers-Newark, took in $181,437 for the part of the year she worked, according to the survey. NJ Advance Media has previously reported she will make $385,000 over the full year. Cantor also is eligible for a bonus up to $38,500.
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