According to a Chronicle of Higher Education report, public universities raised their presidents’ salaries an estimated 7.6 percent last year. UVA President John Casteen ranked third among all public university presidents with $797,048. The previous year, Casteen made $753,672. His 5.8 percent raise came in a year when in-state tuition increased by more than 8 percent, but he won’t be taking a raise this year.
Ranked at the top, Ohio State University’s E. Gordon Gee banked $1.35 million, followed by Mark Emmert of the University of Washington with $887,870.
According to a New York Times article, days after the Chronicle report was published, many presidents said they would give back some of their pay, or give up raises. Emmert gave up his raise this year. The chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis, Mark Wrighton, announced he would take a 5 percent cut from his salary on January 1 and another cut on July 1.
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John Casteen, the third highest paid public university president, is giving $110,000 and forgoing a raise next year. |
At UVA, Casteen will also forgo a raise this year, says Carol Wood, UVA spokesperson. “President Casteen is particularly concerned about access to higher education and the impact of the current financial crisis on middle and low-income families and his giving to the University reflects that concern,” she says by e-mail.
Casteen makes an annual financial contribution to the University, and this year, the total will be $110,000. “He recently announced in a letter to alumni, parents and friends that he and Mrs. Casteen would be designating their annual year-end gift to the University for AccessUVa, the University’s financial aid program,” says Wood. At the beginning of the fundraising campaign in 2006, Casteen committed to giving $500,000 over five years to the University, requesting that the funds provide scholarship support for children of University staff and faculty.
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