President Tom Rochon remains the highest paid employee at Ithaca College, according to the college’s latest Internal Revenue Service form 990 for 2010-11, and his salary is closely in line with the nation’s median of private college president salaries.
Because the college is a nonprofit educational organization, it is required to submit an annual 990 form to the IRS. The form includes information about compensation, benefits and other allowances for the college’s employees. The form is due Oct. 15, but the college can request an extension for six months, which it has done this year, according to Carl Sgrecci, vice president of finance and administration. Therefore, the most recent 990 form is from 2010 and includes information from June 1, 2010, to May 31, 2011.
In the 2010-11 fiscal year, Rochon made $301,605 base compensation and, including other compensation, made $424,248 in total. This is an increase of $16,658 total compensation from the 2009-10 fiscal year, during which he made $407,590 in total.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, in the 2010-11 fiscal year, the median base salary for presidents at private colleges was $294,489, up 2.8 percent from the previous year, and the median total compensation is $385,909, which was up 2.2 percent.
The pay of top officials on the 990 form is divided into six categories: base compensation, which is salary; bonus and incentive compensation; retirement and other deferred compensation; other reportable compensation, such as external or additional retirement plans; and nontaxable benefits, such as a house or tuition remission.
In 2010-11, the second-highest paid official at the college was Sgrecci, who was paid a base salary of $192,592 and made $231,116 in total.
The third highest paid official was Shelley Semmler, retired vice president of institutional advancement, who in the 2010-11 fiscal year was paid a base salary of $176,829 and made $214,248 in total compensation.
Ranked as the fourth-highest paid official was Nancy Pringle, vice president and general counsel for legal affairs, who made $166,201 as a base salary and $222,180 in total.
Leslie Lewis, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, came in at fifth, making a base salary of $157,772 and a total of $180,590.
Also reported on the 990 form is the college’s endowment. For the 2010-11 fiscal year the college reported $209,450,528. In the 2009-10 fiscal year, the reported endowment was $174,490,395. In the 2007-08, the endowment was $237,254,934, but in the 2008-09 fiscal year, it was $165,324,374. Sgrecci said the college has been slow to come back from the financial crisis in 2008-09.
