VCU president is highest-paid public college president in the state

By: Ned Oliver - July 17, 2018 6:36 pm

The Chronicle of Higher Education released its annual ranking of executive compensation of the country’s public and private colleges universities over the weekend.

The highest-paid public college president in the state, Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao, came in at 43 on the list with a compensation package totaling $690,943.

Behind him on the list were:

George Mason University President Angel Cabrera, $645,017 (Ranked No. 47.)
University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan, $607,502 (No. 65)
Virginia Tech President Timothy D. Sands, $555,198 (No. 83)
Old Dominion University President John R. Broderick, $505,861 (No. 91)
College of William and Mary President W. Taylor Reveley III, $479,400 (No. 108)

The rankings cover the 2016-2017 academic year.

Salary for private college presidents lags what’s available for public universities, but as of 2015, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., came in highest in the state and 59 in the country with annual compensation of $958,021.

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Ned Oliver

Ned, a Lexington native, has been a fulltime journalist since 2008, beginning at The News-Gazette in Lexington, and including stints at the Berkshire Eagle, in Berkshire County, Mass., and the Times-Dispatch and Style Weekly in Richmond. He is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, in Great Barrington, Mass. He was named Virginia's outstanding journalist for 2020 by the Virginia Press Association.