The Chronicle of Higher Education is spreading misinformation about AU President Cornelius M. Kerwin — and it’s time to set the record straight. The Chronicle would have us believe Kerwin received a salary of over $1.4 million during the 2007-2008 fiscal year. But it’s false. The AU Board of Trustees appropriately has called this claim inaccurate and misleading. And to its credit, the university is pushing back hard against the Chronicle’s claims.
The Eagle’s article explains how the publication miscalculated the information. The Chronicle factored about $800,000 into Kerwin’s total earnings that simply should not have been counted. This $800,000 is a lump sum payout of deferred compensation, not a part of Kerwin’s salary or benefits package. As The Eagle reports, a portion of Kerwin’s earnings each year was placed in a trust back in 2000, when he was provost. Kerwin was prohibited from withdrawing funds from the trust before he had served nine years with the university. But as the Board of Trustees points out, the Chronicle added that nine-year investment to their calculation of his salary for a single year, which inflated his earnings.
All of this is relevant, because college and university presidents’ salaries has been a topic of national debate recently. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a press statement that salaries need to be more reasonable. And maybe they do. In such tough economic times, when students and parents are scrimping to pay for school, college and university presidents should not be getting exorbitant pay increases. They should do more with less. But the Chronicle of Higher Education should be honest about which presidents are making the most. The truth is, Kerwin’s salary is average for college and university presidents. He makes less than the president of George Washington University and even less than the president of Georgetown University.
Kerwin works hard. For almost a decade, he has been an invaluable influence at this university. But in spite of this, he has not taken a salary that is unreasonable or even particularly handsome, especially compared to other college and university presidents in the area. The Chronicle of Higher Education should fix their embarrassing error. In the meantime, AU students should take a moment to appreciate the good work their president does.
13 Comments
CAS Student
Nov 5 at 2:43 AM
Kerwin is that you? Good job on writing the article, Kerwin, but please focus on improving the school.
Instead of writing an opinion article without solid facts, please focus on a quantitative analysis about Kerwin’s contributions. Kerwin’s salary is pretty high compared to the rankings of AU. We as the student body expect to see more changes.
Given the history of this school, it is reasonable to ask and expect that the president be closely monitored by the Board of Trustees lest we have another Ladner incident.
Snarky
Nov 5 at 2:51 AM
CAS-
Dr. Kerwin is a God among mortals. He deserves every penny we pay him.
Ben W.
Nov 5 at 3:25 AM
Let’s also not forget that Kerwin served under Ladner for many years, and many of the same administrators were present during the Ladner years, and knew exactly what was going on.
As there was no de-Ladnerizing of the campus bureaucracy, nor the board of trustees, we ought not be surprised that the same corrupt patterns evolve. Kerwin is just as likely to be embezzling money and stealing from the campus as Benny Ladner was, and thankfully we have the ever-objective and ever-independent “journalism” of the Eagle to protect the campus from administration abuses.
Kim L.
Nov 5 at 4:13 AM
The board of trustees is almost completely different now than during Ladner’s time here. Please don’t mislead. And if you want facts and figures supporting this, contact the development office. They have them and are very willing to offer them. I’m guessing that the reason the Eagle doesn’t write about them is because it’s a student publication and a lot of students aren’t interested in a complicated list of numbers and calculations. That’s just my guess, and whether or not that’s the way it should be, I don’t know. Probably not.
Brett
Nov 5 at 11:20 AM
Hello, Eagle.
Don’t apologize too much for Kerwin’s compensation. Anything over $500,000 is a hefty salary, especially for a school where the endowment is much, much lower than many rival universities. The $200 million A New AU campaign is small beans compared to other major capital campaigns that set goals of $500 million or more. AU remains a mostly tuition-dependent school.
Please keep a close eye on how much Kerwin’s salary goes up in the years ahead, and report it! It’s true that many of the same characters are in place from Ladner’s day, including the VP of Finance. Why? I wish I knew.
And feel free to call the Chronicle of Higher Ed for comment. It would be interesting to hear what they have to say.
Alex Knepper
Nov 5 at 11:49 AM
It’s a private university. They can pay him as much as they want. If you don’t like it, don’t go here.
Brett
Nov 5 at 11:55 AM
No, it’s a nonprofit institution that gets huge tax advantages as well as federal funds. So AU is subject to scrutiny from Congress _ and its students and alumni.
CAS Student
Nov 5 at 7:23 PM
Alex,
Your argument does not hold up too well. Yes, AU is a private university. However, we the students are part of this private university. We have every right to influence the Board of Trustees and the administration of this school.
AU Student
Nov 5 at 8:23 PM
Although AU is a private school, we were one of a few schools to be chartered by the US Congress. Back in the Ladner years, Congress got involved, and they ultimately have the authority to revoke our charter.
Not too bright, are you
Nov 5 at 9:39 PM
It’s a private university. They can establish a Women’s Resource Center if they want. If you don’t like it, don’t go here.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nov 5 at 11:19 PM
“not too bright” for the win
Ryan
Nov 6 at 1:03 AM
To quote Liz Lemon, “MMMM, ya burnt.”
Mailbox
Nov 6 at 12:49 PM
Actually, I agree with CAS Student. It’s the student body that make up this prestigiousness of this private university; if more and more people are choosing to leave American University, then the retention rates are not good then it damages the university’s reputation.
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