Several presidents at Connecticut’s private colleges were paid much more than their couterparts at similiar universities, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports in its annual compensation analysis.

Yale University’s Richard Levin, who retired this year, made $1.6 million in total pay and other benefits last year. The median pay at universities the Chronicle determined were similar was $1.2 million. For example, the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made $1 million. Duke’s president made $969,000.

Quinnipiac’s John Lahey is the 25th highest paid president in the country. He made $1.1 million last year. The median pay at similiar institutions was $221,000.

Presidents at the University of New Haven, University of Hartford, Trinity College and Connecticut College were all paid about $100,000 more than presidents at similar institutions. Meanwhile, the presidents at Wesleyan University, St. Joseph College and the University of Bridgeport all made significantly less than their presidents at similar universities.

Curious how these presidents compare to the state’s public college presidents? UConn’s president Susan Herbst contract provides her $578,000 in annual compensation and benefits. The former Board of Regents president for the other state college system was $410,000 a year.

Here’s a chart of private college presidents pay:

private college presidents pay
Avatar photo

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Jacqueline was CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter, and an original member of the CT Mirror staff, joining shortly before our January 2010 launch. Her awards include the best-of-show Theodore A. Driscoll Investigative Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists in 2019 for reporting on inadequate inmate health care, first-place for investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020 for reporting on housing segregation, and two first-place awards from the National Education Writers Association in 2012. She was selected for a prestigious, year-long Propublica Local Reporting Network grant in 2019, exploring a range of affordable and low-income housing issues. Before joining CT Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.

Leave a comment