The Journal

A list of the highest-paid private university presidents published by the Chronicle of Higher Education lists Richard Meyers, Webster University's former president, as the fourth highest paid president in the country.

Meyers' total compensation for the 2007-2008 school year was $1,429,738, according to the Chronicle's list. The highest-paid private university president, Shirley Ann Jackson from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., made $1,598,247.

Meyers' pay and expenses, and the recently reported existence of a bonus, have already caused an uproar among WU faculty and led to meetings between faculty and staff representatives with administrators and Board of Trustee members.

As a result of those meetings it was decided that the best way to proceed was to host an open forum for faculty and staff members. Ralph Olliges, president of the Faculty Senate and associate professor in the multidisciplinary studies department, officially announced the meeting in an e-mail message Nov. 3.

"On Monday, November 23, 2009, President Beth Stroble, Chairman of the Board Mark Burkhart and Board Trustee Ed Glotzbach will hold a faculty/staff forum in the Winifred Moore Auditorium at 3:00 p.m.," wrote Olliges in the e-mail.In an e-mail statement sent to The Journal, President Elizabeth Stroble discussed the two reasons for hosting the meeting.

"The goal of the forum is twofold: First is to provide information and answer compensation questions regarding the recently issued 990 report," Stroble wrote in the e-mail. "Second is to outline an approach to 'next level' decisions and strategies that will help Webster realize the strategic vision and mission. All staff and faculty are invited to attend this forum and to participate in the discussion."

When the list of highest paid presidents was published in newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, some WU faculty members expressed their opinion on the faculty discussion list.

Daniel Hellinger, professor in the history, politics and international relations department, wrote that he was opposed to a compensation package that includes bonuses.

During the Oct. 8 meeting between faculty representatives, President Stroble and members of the Board of Trustees, it was revealed that Meyers' pay package included a possible bonus.

The bonus, up to 50 percent of his base salary, was dependent on hitting goals such as growth in the number of students, growth in endowment, financial integrity and growth in the number of campuses, nationally and internationally.

Several faculty members interviewed for this story said that using those indicators to award a bonus is not the best solution as they don't measure academic outcomes or quality.

"They obviously judged Meyers in terms of how he increased revenues, contained costs, and helped boost our bond rating," wrote Warren Rosenblum, an associate professor in the history, politics and international relations department, on the faculty discussion list. "Did they even bother trying to gauge academic quality? Was there any attention to indicators like student retention, graduation rates, and alumni satisfaction?"

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