“These people are the CEOs of major institutions. What do you expect them to earn?”
I agree. I look at the president of S’s school and not only is the guy running a major research university …, he’s running a major medical center that is one of the city’s leading employers and providers of health care with numerous hospitals … a major business school with all the glad-handling and connections that entails … a major law school, ditto … a theater school that requires substantial glad-handling with Hollywood and NYC powers that be … a journalism school that can at any moment (and has been) embroiled in investigative journalism scandals … as well as involvement with the government in terms of research grants that make up roughly 1/3 of the schools’ funding … glad-handling major donors … traveling extensively to help build that international footprint … overseeing the Middle East campus … and of course worrying about the safety and security of 8000 undergrads. I think he’s doing a heroic job and it’s a major, major set of responsibilities - akin to running a Fortune 50 company. I don’t think seven figures is out of line at all.