Getting Money Off The Books

Reader comment on: College President Compensation

Submitted by David Weinkrantz (United States), Dec 16, 2013 22:02

Some college presidents also receive directorships from publicly traded corporations. For example while Ruth J. Simmons, was president of Brown University, she was made a director of Goldman Sachs Corporation.

I don't think think her Goldman appointment resulted from any expertise in directing a major investment bank. Her field of expertise is romance literature. Rather, I think Goldman wished the patina of her name and Brown U. affiliation on its annual report.

Goldman paid her well. For example, in 2009, she earned $323,539 from her directorship, including stock grants and options, as calculated by Goldman, and left the board with stock worth at the time around $4.3 million. This was in addition to her $576,000 salary from Brown.

As college presidents who also serve as corporate directors are taking time away from their university duties, I think they should remit their directorship income to the colleges that pays their salaries.

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