Iowa Presidents to Get Big Raises

The Iowa Board of Regents decided yesterday to give the presidents of Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa an 18-percent pay raise, The Des Moines Register reports:

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy will be paid $75,000 more for 2007-08, bringing his total compensation to $473,316. This includes $398,316 in base pay and $75,000 a year in deferred compensation if he stays at ISU until 2010.

University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen’s $25,000 salary hike will raise his base pay to $300,000. The regents also approved $25,000 a year in deferred compensation for Allen if he stays at UNI until 2012, which brings his total compensation to $325,000.

The larger-than-usual raises for Allen and Geoffroy follow the regents awarding new University of Iowa President Sally Mason a total compensation package of $560,000 a year. That includes $450,000 in base pay, $60,000 a year in deferred compensation through 2012, and $50,000 a year in potential performance bonuses.

“It’s a reflection of the market today,” [board chairman Michael] Gartner said of the increases, adding that new Ohio State University President Gordon Gee will be paid more than $700,000 a year.

Geoffroy’s and Allen’s increases bring them into the top half of their peer institutions, Gartner said. The median salary for public research university presidents in 2005-06 was $374,846, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.