Ramsey's pay at U of L dwarfs others in ACC

University of Louisville President James Ramsey last year was paid 2 ½ times more than the average of the Atlantic Coast Conference's other 14 presidents and chancellors — all of whose universities are ranked far higher academically than U of L.

Ramsey's total compensation of $1,682,176 from the university and its foundation was 53 percent higher than the total Duke University paid to its president, even though Duke's endowment is nine times as large and it is tied for eighth in U.S. News & World Report's ranking of national universities, compared with U of L, which is tied for 161st.

A survey conducted by The Courier-Journal also found that Ramsey's total pay was three times that of the average total compensation of the presidents of 10 "similar" universities — including Arkansas and Arizona — as identified by the Chronicle of Higher Education based on a formula that includes enrollment, endowment size and median SAT scores.

Ramsey also collected three times the total pay of presidents of 11 fellow schools in the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, including Cincinnati and Memphis.

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Larry Benz, treasurer of the U of L Board of Trustees, said in an interview that it is "no surprise" that Ramsey is among the highest-paid university presidents because of his longevity.

The survey shows Ramsey, who was appointed in 2002, has served longer as president than most of the presidents and chancellors to whom his pay was compared, some of whom were just recently hired.

Dr. Robert Hughes, the board's chairman, said Ramsey deserves "every dime" he was paid because of his results, transforming what was once a "big suitcase college" — a commuter school — into one that is home to students from 119 counties and is graduating 1,000 more students a year than when he took over. Hughes also mentioned that CBS Sports last week cited U of L for having the nation's second best athletic program.

Benz also said Ramsey's pay was inflated last year because it included "legacy payments" for bonuses earned the year before.

The newspaper surveyed pay at other universities after some trustees raised questions about Ramsey's compensation from the university's foundation, which provided about $1.3 million of his total pay last year.

State Auditor Adam Edelen announced last month that his office would examine the foundation, and a consultant hired by the Board of Trustees compensation committee is scheduled Monday to present a "competitive market review" of compensation paid to Ramsey and other top administrators.

According to tax records and interviews, only five of the 35 universities examined provided supplemental pay to their top executive through school-related foundations and none provided it on the scale of the U of L Foundation.

U of L trustee Craig Greenburg, who called for an audit of the foundation's expenses, declined to comment on the newspaper's findings, while fellow trustee Steve Campbell, who also has questioned Ramsey's pay, did not respond to requests for comment.

The gap between the compensation of Ramsey and other presidents would have been greater if the newspaper had included $520,833 that the foundation set aside last year in deferred compensation to be paid to Ramsey in the future. Although some accounting experts and the National Council of Nonprofits say that figure should be counted, others say it should be excluded, in part because it is an estimate and the executive might not collect it if he leaves before his contract expires.

Ramsey last year collected $342,930 from the university as well as $278,656 from the foundation in base pay and another $1,060,590 in other reportable income from the foundation, which included $944,512 in paid-out deferred compensation.

The university's report to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which compiles an annual list of executive compensation in higher education, said U of L paid nothing to Ramsey last year in deferred compensation. Hughes and the foundation's spokesman, Tim Mulloy, were unable to explain the discrepancy Friday.

Ramsey was paid more in total compensation than any other ACC president or chancellor. His total pay exceeded that of the next highest paid president — the University of Miami's Donna Shalala, who was paid $1,225,689 — by 37 percent. Shalala did not receive a foundation supplement.

One ACC president, the Rev. William Healy of Boston College, was paid nothing because he is a Jesuit priest and took a vow of poverty, while a second, the Rev. John Jenkins of Notre Dame, gives his compensation of $839,119 to his religious order.

Ramsey's total compensation also dwarfed that of the presidents of the Chronicle for Higher Education's "similar institutions," who collected an average of $515,715 last year. The only one to collect a foundation supplement was LSU's F. King Alexander, who got $36,000 for housing.

Of those peer schools, eight had higher rankings from US News & World Report, nine had more undergraduates and seven had bigger budgets. U of L, which had 15,957 undergraduates in 2014, had a larger enrollment than seven of the schools.

Ramsey's total pay was 3.5 times the $475,000 given to President Ann Weaver Hart of the University of Arizona, which has more than twice as many students and more than twice the expenditures. It was five times as much as the total paid to President G. David Gearhart of the University of Arkansas, which has more students and a bigger endowment than U of L.

Both Arkansas and Arizona are rated higher by U.S. News & World Report.

Of the 11 urban universities in the comparison, nine had larger enrollments than U of L, and three were higher ranked, while eight had smaller endowments and eight had lesser rankings from US News & World Report.

Ramsey had served about twice as long as the average of the other urban university presidents.

The next highest paid of those executives was Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares of University of Illinois-Chicago, who was paid $872,458, about half Ramsey's total compensation. The University of Cincinnati, which has a bigger endowment and more expenses than U of L and is ranked higher, paid President Santa Ono a total of $625,000 — about one-third Ramsey's total pay.

None of the urban schools supplemented their president's compensation through a foundation, according to a review of tax records and interviews with foundation executives and university spokesmen.

For example, Ramsey gets $250,000 in deferred pay for every year he remains U of L president through 2020, according to an extension of his contract negotiated in 2013.

The Courier-Journal previously reported that the foundation in 2012-13 paid about $2.4 million in deferred compensation to Ramsey, $1.8 million to Provost Shirley Willihnganz and $1.3 million to Chief of Staff Kathleen Smith.

Ramsey in May lashed out at critics on the board of trustees and the press for challenging his compensation and deferred pay for top staff. But several board members said they needed more information about compensation and the foundation, which manages $1.1 billion in assets and controls 10 corporations.

Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189

ACC LEADERS' PAY

Here's how University of Louisville President James Ramsey's total compensation compared with that of other ACC presidents and chancellors in 2014:

University University's leader Tenure Academic ranking Enrollment Foundation pay Total pay Louisville James Ramsey 2002- 161 (tie) 15,957 1,339,246 1,682,176 Boston College Rev. William Healy 1996- 31 9,049 0 0 Clemson James P. Clements 2013- 62t 16,931 $488,800 $775,000 Duke Richard Brodhead 2004- 8t 6,646 0 1,102,608 Florida State Eric Barron 2010-14 95t 32,528 0 649,950 Georgia Tech G.P. Peterson 2009- 35t 14,558 0 440,000 Miami Donna E. Shalala 2001- 48t 11,380 0 1,225,689 North Carolina Carol L. Folt 2013- 30 18,370 0 520,000 NC State Randolph Woodson 2010- 95t 24,536 52,000 572,000 Notre Dame Rev. John Jenkins 2005- 16t 8,477 0 839,119 Pittsburgh Mark Nordenberg 1995-2014 62t 18,615 0 597,000 Syracuse Nancy Cantor 2004-13 58t 15,097 0 825,292 Virginia Teresa Sullivan 2010- 23t 16,087 0 494,700 Virginia Tech Timothy Sands 2014 71t 24,034 310,000 500,000 Wake Forest Nathan Hatch 2005- 27t 4,823 1,005,505

Sources: Academic rankings and enrollment from US News & World Report; total compensation and tenure data from Chronicle for Higher Education, tax reports and interviews.

PAY AT SIMILAR UNIVERSITIES

Here's how U of L President James Ramsey's total compensation compared with presidents of similar universities in 2014.

University University leader Tenure Academic ranking Enrollment Foundation pay Total compensation U of L James Ramsey 2002- 161 (tie) 15,957 1,339,246 1,682,176 Washington St. Elson Floyd 2007- 138t 23,070 0 $877,250 Cincinnati Santa Ono 2012- 129t 22,231 0 625,000 LSU F. King Alexander 2013- 129t 24,923 36,000 Housing $636,000 Va Commonwealth Michael Rao 2009- 156t 23,657 0 553,155 Arizona Ann Weaver Hart 2012 121t 31,670 0 $475,000 Colo St Anthony Frank 2008 121t 23,798 0 575,000 Hawaii-Manoa Thomas Apple 2013-14 168 14,499 0 $439,008 Mississippi St Mark Keenum 2009 156t 16,399 0 $429,000 New Mexico Robert Frank 2012- 189t 21,138 0 $358,550 Arkansas-Fayetteville G. David Gearhart 2008-15 135t 21,009 0 330,150

Sources: Academic rankings and enrollment from US News & World Report; total compensation and tenure data from Chronicle for Higher Education, tax reports and interviews.

PAY AT URBAN UNIVERSITIES

Ramsey's total compensation vs presidents at other urban universities in 2014.

University University's leader Tenure Academic ranking Enrollment Foundation pay Total pay Louisville James Ramsey 2002- 161st (tie) 15,957 1,339,246 1,682,176 Akron Luis Proenza 2009-14 Rank not published 20473 0 562,927 Cincinnati Santa Ono 2012- 129th (tie) 22231 0 625,000 Cleveland State Ronald Berkman 2009- Rank not published 12376 0 597,000 Florida International Mark Rosenberg 2009- Rank not published 39045 382,578 582,578 Georgia State Mark Becker 2009- Rank not published 24865 0 536,000 Illinois-Chicago Paula Allen-Meares 2009-15 149 (tie) 16,660 0 872,458 IUPUI Charles Bantz 2003- 194 (tie) 22409 0 330,190 Memphis Shirley Raines 2001-14 Rank not published 17221 0 339,610 Missouri-KC Leo Morton 2008- 189 (tie) 10247 0 295,545 Temple Neil Theobald 2013- 121st (tie) 28068 0 450,000 Wisconsin-Milwaukee Mark Mone 2014- Rank not published 23004 0 340,000

Sources: Academic rankings and enrollment from US News & World Report; total compensation and tenure data from Chronicle for Higher Education, tax reports and interviews.