As public information according to the Freedom of Information Act, college executive salaries and benefits are often compared with average salaries of faculty and support staff. Since the compensation of other executives can vary from institution to institution based on job description and title, presidents are most commonly used in these comparisons.According to Guilford’s most recent 990 tax form, submitted to the IRS in February, President Kent Chabotar is Guilford’s highest paid executive, receiving $250,000 in salary and $89,755 in benefits in 2007-8.

Chabotar’s compensation is set by a contract between him and the Board of Trustees Executive Committee. Because of the financial situation of the college, Chabotar has asked for the last two years to forego any raise or bonus to his salary or benefits until faculty receive one.

“Part of my turning down the raises for two years is because I think my compensation is within a reasonable ballpark while the faculty’s isn’t,” Chabotar said.

Chabotar said that upon being offered the position at Guilford he never negotiated his salary and accepted the first offer from the trustees. Anytime the Executive Committee decides his compensation, Chabotar said, “I’m not even in the room.”

After 12 months of any full-time employee’s term at Guilford, the college contributes 6 percent of their salaries and wages toward their retirement plan. After the 48th month this increases to 11 percent. As of August 1, 2006, Chabotar received 11 percent of his salary toward his retirement plan and an additional $15,000 a year. This is reflected in a 145.78 percent increase in his benefits between 2005-6 and 2006-7.

The 990 form lists the 2007-8 compensation of six other executives and the five highest paid non-executives.

“To the best of my knowledge, no one has received a bonus, raise or other financial incentive after 2008 when the faculty last received a pay raise except for an occasional increase tied to a promotion or change in job responsibilities,” said Jerry Boothby, vice president of finance and administration.

Boothby also said that because salary negotiation is complex and based on factors like job description and performance evaluation, comparisons between individual salaries and faculty or staff averages could be unfair.

According to the most recent data from The Chronicle of Higher Education for 2006-7, in relation to Guilford’s “greater comparison group,” a list of 18 peer, aspirant, and competitive colleges and universities that Guilford compares itself to, Chabotar’s salary and benefits ranked 11th out of 16 and 3rd out of 16, respectively, of the schools with data available. He ranked 5th in terms of total compensation. Because Chabotar declined raises for two years while other presidents may have received them, these standings do not reflect his current standing.

Chabotar entered Guilford in 2002 with a salary of $200,000 and $40,870 in benefits. He also had the use of a college-owned car: a GMC SUV purchased by Guilford for $33,000 that was replaced in 2003 with a Lexus SUV purchased for $43,291. Chabotar said that he paid $15,000 over five years to cover the cost difference between the Lexus and the GMC, which is now used as a multi-purpose campus vehicle.

Chabotar said that other Guilford presidents and advancement vice presidents have used cars owned or subsidized by the college. Bill Rogers, president of Guilford from 1981-1996, had use at various times of a Volkswagen, Lexus, and other leased vehicles provided by a friend of the college.

Mike Poston, vice president of advancement and executive director of development, uses a 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid purchased by Guilford for $31,026. Chabotar said that both he and Poston use their vehicles for college business and are taxed by the IRS for any personal use.

Since 2002, Chabotar has lived in Ragsdale House, which has housed several Guilford presidents, and uses the house to welcome visitors and host college events.

According to Boothby, Dean of Students Aaron Fetrow and Associate Dean for Campus Life Jennifer Agor are also supplied homes by the college. Eight additional faculty and staff members live on campus and pay rent.

“I live in my campus home ‘for the benefit of my employer’ under the IRS code,” Fetrow said. “Translated, this means that my position requires that I live on campus. This is very common with senior student affairs officers, especially at smaller, liberal arts schools. It is important that I note that the amount I would pay in rent is calculated ‘off of the 990’ and is not reflected in my salary. That amount is about $800/month.”

Boothby said that there are important distinctions between the houses at Guilford and those at some other colleges.

“Not all houses are equal, with some college presidents living in palatial residences, often off campus, and others in more modest homes on campus,” he said. “The same differences can occur among faculty and staff.”

Every November, The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes the compensation of presidents across the nation. Sanford J. Ungar, president of Goucher College, one of Guilford’s aspirant colleges, wrote in The Chronicle, “Drawn largely from the Form 990s that private, nonprofit educational institutions file annually with the Internal Revenue Service, and generally about a year and a half out of date, the tables documenting presidential salary packages in higher education are greeted with shock and generally set off rounds of sanctimonious protest.”

It is unfair to criticize presidential compensation, Ungar says, because many presidents also act as professors, chief financial officers, PR managers, and fundraisers.

“Nobody understands what it’s like to be a president who hasn’t done this job,” Chabotar said. “It’s a very difficult position. I love my job, but it’s very difficult, and that’s why these kinds of jobs pay more than others.”