Central Illinois private schools pay leaders well

PEORIA, Ill. -- A study shows that two private universities in central Illinois paid their leaders significantly more than the national average for their position.

Among central Illinois private schools, Bradley University appears to be the most generous, according to a study published in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Former President John Brazil made $357,081 annually leading the 6,000-student school.

The study determined that the average salary and benefits for leaders of the nation's private colleges is $207,130.

Interim Bradley President Gary Anna made about $208,000 for 1999-2000. He filled in after the resignation of Brazil.

Private institutions do not have to make salaries public, and Bradley would not say how much current President David Broski is being paid. The Chronicle's study is based on forms that must be filed with the Internal Revenue Service -- the only standardized source of financial information on not-for-profits -- and used the most recent data available.

Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington also pays its leaders more than the national average. The survey reported President Minor Myers Jr.'s salary as $254,118.

Both Broski and Myers were out of town Monday and could not be reached.

At Knox College in Galesburg, former board president Roger Taylor is serving as interim president after the September resignation of former President Richard Millman, whose salary was reported at about $195,000.

Taylor said as a board member, he often saw reviews of salaries paid at colleges of comparable size and rarely saw pay exceeding $200,000. As interim president of the 1,200-student school, he said, he's developed a new appreciation of how much private college leaders do to earn their checks.

Since August, Taylor said, he's given 23 speeches, spent untold hours on the phone and traveling to raise money, and attended as many Knox functions such as athletic events and plays as possible.

"As the CEO of a college, you have alumni, students, faculty, administrators, the public in general and the community you live in. You have a lot of different constituencies, some of which have different interests," he said. "There's that much complexity to the job. It's a lot more time consuming than I thought, frankly."

The Chronicle said 86 of the nation's private school presidents earn more than $300,000, including 12 who topped $500,000.