Troy

Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's president, stands to earn a bonus of nearly $5.8 million in deferred compensation if she remains at the helm until 2022.

Jackson is marking her 15th year at the university, and in 2013 was paid $5.8 million in deferred pay for staying as president from 2002 to 2012, said Arthur Gajarsa, chairman of the board of trustees and of the university's compensation committee.

"Dr. Jackson has more than surpassed the expectations of the board," he said Friday. "Time magazine called her 'perhaps the ultimate role model for women in science' and the National Science Board described her as a 'national treasure,' and that's how the university views her.

He said RPI will "do everything in our power to recognize her unique value to Rensselaer and prevent other universities from hiring away such an accomplished and transformative thought leader. ... These types of contracts with deferred compensation arrangements are becoming much more common as universities seek to retain their outstanding presidents."

For 2014, her base pay — independent of the deferral package — is about $1 million. That compared to about $945,000 in 2012. In 2013, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Jackson, who has headed RPI since 1999, was the ninth-highest-paid private college executive in 2011. That ranking was based on her total compensation and included the previous deferral package, which was paid out in 2013, said Gajarsa.

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