When The Chronicle of Higher Education released the results of its annual survey of college presidents' pay, it came as no surprise that Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz was the highest paid on Long Island. It's been the case before, and Hofstra is a large private institution.
Rabinowitz is among 81 private college presidents in the United States whose compensations topped $500,000.
The latest data, for fiscal year 2005-06, shows that Rabinowitz was granted $584,478 for his salary and benefits, a 6.6 percent increase over the previous year. His compensation is equal to approximately the semesterly tuition of 45 and a half undergraduates.
Back in 2003-04, Rabinowitz's salary was $416,554; add to that benefits and deferred compensation, and his total reached $507,788. His expenses and other allowances for the fiscal year totaled $81,261.
His total compensation the following year was $548,139, an 8 percent increase, and his expenses grew 68 percent.
That same fiscal year, 2004-05, Herman Berliner, the University provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, earned a compensation package of $366,075.
John D. Miller, the chair of the University's Board of Trustees, defended Rabinowitz's salary in a statement, citing "strides in reputation and quality" during Rabinowitz's seven years as president. He went on to state, "the Board of Trustees feels President Rabinowitz's compensation package is entirely fair and appropriate for a person of his superb talent and commitment."
While some may disagree with Miller's assessment of Rabinowitz's performance, and others find his compensation fair, at least the argument can be had. If Rabinowitz's compensation were kept private, students and others could only tender a guess at what Stuie Bin-Bin makes.
To prevent abuse, non-profits are required to report financial information to the IRS annually with Form 990. The document is made available for public inspection to anyone who should request it from the non-profit. Would the University-as well as other non-profits-be so forthcoming if it wasn't mandatory? It's impossible to say. But those with an interest in financial disclosures don't have to go very far. Foundationcenter.org and guidestar.org make 990s easy to find for public scrutiny.