UI President Sally Mason fifth highest paid among university leaders

University of Iowa President Sally Mason was the fifth highest paid chief executive of a public university or college in the 2013 budget year, according to a new report made public this week.

Only leaders at Ohio State University, Texas A & M University at College State, the North Dakota University System, and the University of Houston received more compensation than Mason's $1.14 million last year, according to a survey conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The rankings include base pay and - if applicable - bonus pay, severance pay, deferred compensation and retirement pay. Last year's top three earning executives no longer are with their former universities, and they received some type of severance package that boosted their compensation totals, according to the report.

That makes Mason the second top earner from 2013 among those still in office - behind just University of Houston President Renu Khator, who earned $1.27 million.

Former OSU President E. Gordon Gee topped the list - with a compensation total of $6.06 million - after the university gave him a $1.5 million 'release payment” in exchange for his vow not to sue, according to The Chronicle.

Gee, now president of West Virginia University, said he left Ohio State last year on his own accord, but the decision came after trustees voiced concern over his propensity to speak off-the-cuff and make ill-advised jokes.

The next top earners received millions less - R. Bowen Loftin made $1.64 million as president of Texas A & M and Hamid Shirvani made $1.31 million as chancellor of the North Dakota University System. Both those totals included compensation packages as well.

Based on the Chronicle's analysis, which included 256 college leaders from 227 institutions, the median compensation for public-college presidents was $478,896. The survey included all public doctoral universities and all state college and university systems with at least three campuses and 50,000 total students.

Mason's total 2013 compensation as reported by the The Chronicle includes a $470,933 deferred compensation pay out. According to state public records, Mason earned a salary in the 2013 budget year of $972,605 - ranking her fifth in the state behind the head football and basketball coaches at the UI and Iowa State University.

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