The Bowdoin Orient

In the 2008 fiscal year (FY), Senior Vice President for Investments Paula Volent remained the highest-paid employee of the College, despite receiving a significant decrease in salary from FY 2007. President Barry Mills's compensation ranked him eighth among the 11 NESCAC presidents, just above the president of Colby College, but well below the president of Bates College.

Information on compensation for Bowdoin employees was compiled from Form 990, a public tax document that non-profits must file with the Internal Revenue Service each year. The form includes Bowdoin's expenses, revenues, net assets and other financial data, collected for FY 2008, from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.

In FY 2008, Volent's total compensation was $459,923, the sum of a $412,000 salary and $47,923 in employee benefits, and represents a 29.17 percent drop from her FY 2007 compensation of $649,347. Volent is responsible for managing the College's endowment, which had a 24.4 percent return on investment in FY 2007—increasing in value from $673 million to $827 million—but only saw a 1.3 percent return on investment in FY 2008.

Mills's total compensation of $424,221 comprises $49,221 in employee benefits and a salary of $375,000, determined each year by the Board of Trustees. His total compensation increased 9.29 percent over his FY 2007 compensation of $388,144.

Among NESCAC schools, Mills's total compensation ranked eighth out of his 11 peers, just behind President of Amherst College Anthony Marx, who received $503,357 in total compensation. The mean compensation among NESCAC presidents was $498,143.

Tufts University President Lawrence Bacow was the highest-paid president in the group. He received $670,844 in total compensation, representing a 17.16 percent increase over the previous year.

The second-highest paid president was Wesleyan University President Michael Roth with $640,758, who was new to the school for the 2007-08 year and earned 24.87 percent more than his predecessor. Williams College President Morton Schapiro earned $528,201, making him the third-highest paid president.

Within Maine, Bates College President Elaine Hansen ranked fourth among NESCAC peers with a total compensation of $526,162—a 30.19 percent increase over her FY 2007 earnings. Colby College President William Adams earned $406,588, placing him ninth within the NESCAC group.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the highest-paid private-college president was Shirley Ann Jackson of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who received $1,598,247 in total compensation for FY 2008.

A total of 23 private-college presidents received above $1 million in compensation, while 110 presidents received over $500,000 in total compensation.

The median salary for the 419 private colleges in the 2007-08 report was $358,746—a 6.5 percent increase from FY 2007.

The Chronicle indicated that due to the economic decline since FY 2008, many college presidents are currently facing frozen or cut salaries, and that FY 2009 documents will likely reflect that fact.

In addition to Mills and Volent, six other top-paid College employees are disclosed each year on Form 990.

Senior Vice President for Planning & Development and Secretary of the College William Torrey received the third-highest compensation. He earned $310,247, which represents a 17.92 percent increase over his FY 2007 compensation.

Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration & Treasurer Katy Longley, the fourth-highest paid employee, received $282,775 in total compensation for FY 2008, an 8.53 percent increase over the previous year.

The fifth-highest paid employee was Dean of Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd, whose $244,736 in total compensation was a 24.14 percent increase over her FY 2007 compensation.

Former Dean of Admissions William Shain and Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster were the sixth- and seventh-highest paid employees. Shain received $231,154 in compensation for his final year with the College, a 4.62 percent decrease over FY 2007. Foster received a 9.1 percent increase in compensation, earning a total of $191,339.

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