University President John J. DeGioia, whose reported compensation of nearly $600,000 in 2003 triggered criticism from some students, received about $45,000 less in total salary and benefits in 2004, according to newly reported tax data.
DeGioia received $542,328 in total compensation in the last fiscal year, including $30,100 in benefits, according to university financial documents. Although the figure represents a decline from DeGioia’s total earnings of $587,922 in 2003, he remains one of only 50 college presidents in the country to make over $500,000 annually, according to a report yesterday in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The university also reported the compensation given to several other top officials in its tax filings. Provost James J. O’Donnell received almost $310,000 in 2004, and Spiros Dimolitsas, senior vice president and chief administrative officer, earned $303,796.
As a non-profit organization, Georgetown is required by federal law to make its tax forms publicly available.
DeGioia’s compensation is comparable to the salaries given to presidents of the most prestigious universities in the country. He earned almost as much as the presidents of Harvard, Princeton and Brown in 2004, according to The Chronicle report.
DeGioia’s salary was far behind those of George Washington University President Stephen J. Trachtenberg and American University President Benjamin Ladner, who earned $704,000 and $815,000, respectively, according to the report. Ladner, however, was forced to resign this year after questions arose about his spending of university funds.
University spokeswoman Julie Bataille said that DeGioia’s compensation declined because he received less money than he did in 2003 as part of a “previous employment agreement.” DeGioia received a $62,355 lump sum payment in 2004 as part of the previous employment agreement, which repays him for compensation owed for his tenure in previous positions at Georgetown, Bataille said.
She said she was unsure what former positions DeGioia was being compensated for, adding that the lump sum agreement was part of the contract he signed when he became president.
DeGioia served as dean of student affairs from 1985 to 1992, and as senior vice president from 1998 to 2001, when he was named Georgetown’s 48th president. His 2004 base salary, not including the lump sum payment for his previous employment, was $449,873.
DeGioia came under fire from some students after tax records publicized last November showed his compensation had risen almost 25 percent in 2003. Students involved in the high-visibility campaign to secure a “living wage” for subcontracted university employees, which included a eight-day hunger strike last spring, were particularly critical of the president’s pay.
In a town hall meeting with students in January, DeGioia attempted to address some of those concerns, saying that his compensation would drop in 2004.
“I did not get a 20 percent pay increase,” he said in response to a student question. “You’ll see that next year I won’t make as much as I did this year.”
The newly-released salary information also comes during a period of increased scrutiny of executive pay and benefits at D.C.-area universities. Ladner resigned last month following allegations of excessive spending and improper tax accounting, and some local colleges, including Georgetown, have said they are examining the situation to help strengthen their own executive compensation systems.
The Chronicle said in its report on presidential pay that five private university presidents received over $1 million in 2004, marking the first year any college president has earned a seven-digit compensation package. The median pay for presidents at research universities like Georgetown was $468,704, according to the report.
Other employees whose salaries were released include Daniel Sedmak, the Medical Center head who resigned in August 2004 and earned over $750,000 in total compensation, and Judith Areen, former Law Center dean, who received almost $320,000.