After years of guarding such details, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit chiropractic colleges has disclosed on its tax forms that the institution’s president and his family members collectively earned more than $1-million in 2010-11.
The bulk of the $1,028,939 went to George A. Goodman, whose $798,198 compensation as president of Logan College of Chiropractic University Programs, in Missouri, rivals that of the leaders of some elite research institutions. The remaining $230,741 went to Mr. Goodman’s wife, son, and daughter-in-law.
Mr. Goodman’s earnings have been disclosed in previous filings of its Form 990, but Logan has, until now, withheld financial information about Mr. Goodman’s family members. Logan’s most recent disclosure follows an April report in The Chronicle that detailed allegations of nepotism at the college.
Among the nation’s 14 nonprofit chiropractic colleges, Mr. Goodman was the highest-paid president in 2009-10, a Chronicle analysis found.
Most private colleges filed their Form 990s for 2010-11 in May, but Logan asked the Internal Revenue Service for a filing extension.
The IRS assesses all benefits flowing to a family to determine whether compensation for a chief executive is excessive, and any tax form that fails to provide that information is incomplete, said Raymond D. Cotton, a lawyer in Washington who specializes in presidential contracts and compensation matters.
“They were not abiding by the rules in their prior filings,” Mr. Cotton said, “and they should be filing amended returns.” Logan officials have filed three amended tax forms.
No. 2 in Missouri
Mr. Cotton added that the additional disclosures were particularly relevant for donors, who should rightfully ask, “Is the money really going to support chiropractic education, or is it going to support this guy’s family?”
The second-highest earner in the family was Mr. Goodman’s son, Jason C. Goodman, whose compensation as an instructor totaled $97,910. Elizabeth A. Goodman, Mr. Goodman’s wife, earned $92,486 in her role as dean of university programs. Jessica Chrun-Goodman, Jason Goodman’s wife, earned $40,345 for duties unspecified in the form.
Logan uses an “independent third party” to conduct a presidential-compensation analysis every two years, and the college’s full governing board reviews that information before approving pay levels, according to the tax form. The consultant, who is not named in the document, examines a “broad cross section of similarly situated educational institutions” to assess appropriate compensation levels, the Form 990 states.
Ken Fields, a spokesman for the college, would not say who had conducted Logan’s compensation analysis, other than to characterize the consultant as “an expert in the field of academic compensation.” The peer group includes chiropractic colleges as well as other colleges and universities in Missouri, he said.
Mr. Goodman, according to The Chronicle‘s analysis, earned more than all but one other public- or private-college president in Missouri in 2009-10. Only Mark S. Wrighton, president of Washington University in St. Louis, earned more.
Mr. Goodman’s compensation constitutes about 3 percent of Logan’s $24.6-million budget. His total pay for 2010-11 slightly exceeded that of Lawrence S. Bacow, president of Tufts University. Tufts has a budget $768-million.
Update (10/19/2012, 1:19 p.m.): Since this article was originally published, Logan College has provided evidence that it filed three amended tax forms. The article has been updated to note those filings and to remove a sentence stating that the college “planned to file” the amended forms.
