Des Moines Register
02/20/06
Grinnell College has Iowa's best-paid college
president
By KATHY A. BOLTEN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
The compensation package of one Iowa private college president surpassed the
$500,000 mark in 2003-04, a Des Moines Register review of tax records shows.
Russell Osgood, Grinnell College's president, received $509,130 in the fiscal
year ending June 30, 2004, according to the college's tax records. More than
$90,000 was in deferred compensation.
Overall, the compensation of presidents at 27 Iowa private colleges and
universities averaged $192,463. The information is included in tax forms filed by
the institutions for the 2003-04 academic year, the most recent year available for
most colleges and universities.
Financial scandals at several colleges across the country, including American
University in Washington, D.C., have led to increased scrutiny of university
presidents' compensation packages. That school's president was ousted last fall
because of his spending practices. Outrage erupted on the campus when the
terms of the president's severance package totaling more than $3 million were
disclosed.
As a result, the federal government has begun taking a closer look at the
finances — including presidents' compensation — of nonprofit organizations such
as colleges and universities. Federal law requires nonprofit organizations to
compile the information and make it available to the public. While scandals like
American's haven't reached Iowa, concerns do exist on a few campuses about
the amounts of presidents' compensation packages, which typically include
salary, retirement pay and bonuses.
Money will play a key role in attracting the next University of Iowa president when
David Skorton leaves for Cornell University. The University of Northern Iowa also
is hunting for a new leader to replace Robert Koob, who is retiring.
At the University of Dubuque, students and others have been upset over
President Jeffrey Bullock's compensation and other issues. At Wartburg College
in Waverly, concerns were raised last fall about the disparity in the percentage
increase in salaries between top administrators and faculty.
The University of Dubuque's trustees in 2004-05 increased Bullock's
compensation by 9.5 percent. The increase came when the university was being
criticized for not granting tenure to a professor, an issue that prompted some
students to begin Internet blogging on the topic.
"I'm disappointed in some of the ways this school has decided to use its money
and how it treats its faculty," said Jason Price, a senior at the university who is
also enrolled in its seminary. Price said he plans on leaving Dubuque at the end
of the semester.
"The president's salary is so inordinately large compared to other schools. I don't
understand it."
Bullock in 2004-05 received $295,705, which is more than the salary of Koob.
Koob — who oversees a student body enrollment at UNI that is more than 10
times that at the University of Dubuque — is being paid $242,610 this year.
"Jeff has provided tremendous leadership since he's been here," said Peter
Smith, a vice president at the Dubuque university. "He's transformed this
university, which was in dire straits when he came here. I think the board, when
they increased his salary, wanted to show him a tangible appreciation. They did
that" with a raise.
Some observers of higher-education issues say the sometimes-rapid increases
of top administrators' pay are a way of shrinking the gap between the
compensation for top corporate executives and compensation for college and
university leaders.
"On the whole, presidents are largely compensated on the low side when
compared to for-profit corporations of similar size whose executives are making
millions," said Richard Ekman, president of the Council of Independent Colleges,
located in Washington, D.C.
"I don't begrudge them getting the salary given the complexity of the job."
However, Ekman said, although some of the increases are overdue, others are
questionable.
"In some instances I don't see a clear correlation between what the president is
making and what accomplishments have occurred on the campus," he said.
John Curtis, director of research for the Washington, D.C.-based American
Association of University Professors, said the group found that top college
administrators' pay significantly outpaced that of the faculty.
"That's very hard on the morale of faculty and other employees," Curtis said.
"Some institutions are shifting to more part-time faculty, they're doing more
outsourcing. We're seeing individual leaders being rewarded while others on a
campus are seeing pay freezes and the like."
In the Register's review, 10 of the presidents were paid $200,000 or more,
including Grinnell's Osgood, who has been the college's president for eight
years.
Grinnell, with about 1,500 students, is considered among the nation's most
selective colleges, competing for students and faculty nationwide. The college
has one of the nation's largest endowments, exceeding $1 billion.
Osgood, 58, said it's not uncommon for his work days to last 12 hours or longer.
He often spends time in his office on the weekends and travels frequently.
"I knew what I was getting into when I took the job," Osgood said. "It is a fact that
if you do these presidency jobs for five years or more, your external
commitments become heavier, and then the overall job becomes heavier."
Osgood is president of a consortium of colleges to which Grinnell belongs. He
also is a member of two private foundation commissions.
In addition to overseeing the operations of college, Osgood teaches a class and
writes at least two pieces each year for national publications
"I think there is a risk when you become a president or dean that everyone —
students and faculty — not just see you as an administrator," said Osgood, who
last week met individually with some students in the class he's teaching about
papers they're writing.
"It's important for me personally to be seen as having a life as a teacher or a
scholar — it gives you an identity as a human being that's not just an
administrator."
$295,705: Jeffrey Bullock, University of Dubuque
$257,126: David Maxwell, Drake University
$509,130: Grinnell College president Russell Osgood, an admirer of President
Abraham Lincoln, has a number of Lincoln items in his office at Nollen House on
the school's campus.
$367,912: Gregory Geoffroy, Iowa State University
$242,610: Robert Koob, University of Northern Iowa
$302,050: David Skorton, University of Iowa
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