UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – The Penn State Board of Trustees today (Sept. 16) approved a salary increase for President Eric Barron based on the recommendation of its Committee on Compensation. The board also received information on increases granted to four other University executives. All of the raises are in line with the general salary increase program for the entire University.
The committee recommended that President Barron receive a 2.25 percent merit increase, based on his “exceptional performance,” bringing his current base salary to $818,004 per year. Under the Compensation Committee Operating Guidelines, a vote of the full Board of Trustees is required for presidential compensation, but is not necessary for the salary increases for members of senior leadership (classified under Tier II and Tier IIA). The performance and compensation of those executives were discussed Thursday (Sept. 15) by the committee and released publicly.
The board’s Committee on Compensation based the salary adjustments recommended for Barron and his senior leadership team on not only their experience, performance, areas of oversight and duties, but also on the University’s pool of allocated funds for annual adjustments. This year, a 360-degree evaluation of Barron was conducted, in which 100 people were asked to complete the assessment, taking into account the president’s goals and objectives and his performance in light of those established goals. The 360 process is designed to provide the board with additional context and information from internal and external stakeholders.
The compensation of the following individuals (classified as Tier II executives) was approved by the committee and shared with the full board:
— Nicholas Jones, executive vice president and provost, annual salary of $530,592;
— David Gray, senior vice president for Finance and Business, annual salary of $490,440;
— Craig Hillemeier, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center dean and CEO and senior vice president for Health Affairs, annual salary of $935,004.
In addition, the Tier IIA executive recommended for a salary increase is Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour. Barbour will now receive an annual salary of $731,808.
This year’s general salary increase for the overall University is 2 percent. Executives rated as exceptional contributors are receiving, on average, increases of 2.32 percent. These salary adjustments will be effective as of July 1, 2016.
The Compensation Committee also approved a title change for Madlyn Hanes, vice president for Commonwealth Campuses. Hanes’ title was modified to vice president for Commonwealth Campuses/executive chancellor.
The Committee on Compensation was formed in November 2013 and is charged with approving the compensation packages of a small group of executives, in order to ensure compensation decisions are based on data and comparative analyses.