U of L trustees halve James Ramsey's raise

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. – After the disclosure that University of Louisville President James Ramsey will make $1.67 million this year — not the $1.1 million reported Monday by a consultant — the Board of Trustees on Friday still awarded him a merit raise, but only half the 6 percent recommended.

The board did recommend that the U of L Foundation give Ramsey a 25 percent bonus, or about $150,000, for meeting most of his goals.

The revised report from the consultant, Mark Reilly of Chicago-based Verisight Inc., said Ramsey made $2.5 million in 2014.

In a brief interview, Ramsey declined to comment on the merit raise or whether he will accept it. He disputed the consultant's revised report on his compensation.

"I don't make $2.5 million a year," he said. "You're lying."

The vote followed a heated debate at the board's annual retreat, at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, in which Trustee Craig Greenberg called Ramsey's pay "unfathomable" and charged that he is paid more like "a Wall Street banker than a public university president."

Emily Bingham, another trustee, said the proposed increase was destroying the morale of faculty, who are getting only a 3 percent increase, on average, this year. Trustee Steve Wilson said he has been approached by "people on the street who are enraged about giving him 6 percent when he is already highly paid. This is a public institution."

But Trustee Jody Prather called Ramsey an "18-hour-a-day guy" and said he's done a "stupendous job," while Ron Butt, another trustee, noted Ramsey has brought in millions of dollars to the school, offsetting state budget cuts, and is "highly respected and sought after."

"How are you going to put a price tag on Michael Jordan?" Butt asked.

Prather, though, did call for the reduced merit pay increase and for a slight reduction in Ramsey's bonus.

In a report released Monday, Reilly said Ramsey will be paid about $1.1 — 60 percent to 80 percent of the median of similar university presidents.

But Reilly said at a meeting of the trustees' compensation committee on Monday that he relied on the university for information on Ramsey's pay — and wasn't aware that he was paid what are known as gross-ups — payments to offset his income taxes on bonuses and other pay.

The revised report said such tax offsets are not a common practice and recommended discontinuing them in future years.

The consultant also said Ramsey receives deferred pay in the same year it is set aside, which provides no incentive for him to stay at the university. The revised report says that pay should not be awarded for three years.

Ramsey did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The board voted 12-4 to raise his base compensation of $624,000 by 3 percent. Two members, including board chairman Dr. Robert Hughes, said they voted against because they thought Ramsey deserved the full increase.

Hughes said the compensation issue had been "beaten to death by the media."

"There is no doubt Dr. Ramsey is paid quite highly," Hughes said. "The most important thing is the job he's done."

The Courier-Journal reported Monday that his total pay last year, which it figured at $1.68 million, was 2 ½ times more than the average of the Atlantic Coast Conference's other presidents and chancellors and three times as high as presidents at other urban metropolitan universities as well as at similar schools as identified by the Chronicle for Higher Education.

The compensation committee recommended the bonus and merit pay increases for Ramsey based on his accomplishments last year, when he met or exceeded 20 of 23 goals.

Reilly said in the report that his relatively high pay was based on his longevity and performance.

But faculty member Nancy Theriot, professor and chairwoman of U of L's department of Women's and Gender Studies, said: "Not only is President Ramsey getting way more compensation than he deserves, according to reports of comparable compensation, but faculty at U of L, especially in the College of Arts and Sciences, are getting way less."

Most of Ramsey's pay comes from the university foundation, of which Ramsey is also president.

The Courier-Journal found that only five of the 35 universities it examined paid their president through a foundation, and none did so on the scale of Ramsey.

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