Have you ever wondered how much a college president earns? Or who the top earners are? The Chronicle in Higher Education published the latest data of the private-college presidents with the highest pay in 2020 — most of the leaders have since left the role, with two of the top earners being former Pennsylvania private college presidents: Stephen K. Klasko and Amy Gutmann. 

According to The Chronicle’s analysis, the highest-paid chief executive officer at private nonprofit colleges in 2020 was Stephen K. Klasko of Thomas Jefferson University, with total compensation of $8,435,657 million. Dr. Klasko was also the president of Jefferson for eight years but retired in 2021. 

“Our Board of Trustees took the bold step in 2013 to take the organization in a new direction, and I thank them, my management colleagues, and all of our Jefferson faculty, students, and staff for all they have done to drive our success.,” Dr. Klasko said at the time. “I have been blessed to work alongside a group of trustees from 2013 to today that understand Jefferson's incredibly important role in advancing education and health care for ALL Philadelphians. I am very proud of our blueprint for strategic action that transformed Jefferson's mission to 'We Improve Lives' which led to transformational gifts such as the Frazier Family Coalition Stroke Education and Prevention in North Philadelphia and the Closing The Gap by zip code initiative in collaboration with Novartis and Temple University.”

Last year, the Thomas Jefferson University Board of Trustees appointed Mark L. Tykocinski, MD, as the university's next president. Earlier this year, he came under fire for liking controversial tweets, leading to his official resignation on July 24th— a year after becoming Thomas Jefferson University President. 

The Chronicle also found that with only being in office for part of the year, Charles F. Monahan Jr., Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) President, earned nearly $4.5 million in compensation. The average for top earners in 2020 was $849,605, according to the analysis. 

Former President of the University of Pennsylvania, Amy Gutmann, had a total compensation of $2.6 million in 2020. However, according to The Inquirer, she earned nearly $23 million in 2021, with most accrued over her 18 years as president. 

To read the full report, click here.