University Times

Pitt trustees have increased treasurer and chief investment officer Amy K. Marsh’s salary by 43 percent to $300,000 in a move they said reflected dramatic changes in the competitive environment for similar financial professionals nationwide.

In addition, the trustees compensation committee approved a $60,000 annual salary supplement for Executive Vice Chancellor Jerome Cochran “for his continuing additional service as the University’s general counsel,” in addition to a base salary raise of 4 percent.

The trustees also approved an extension of a five-year retention incentive program for four senior officers that will expire on June 30.

These actions were taken yesterday, Dec. 6, at a compensation committee conference call meeting where trustees set annual compensation, retroactive to July 1, for Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg and six other senior administrative officers.

Pitt trustees have increased Nordenberg’s salary to $442,500 — a raise of 3.5 percent over his fiscal year 2006 salary.

Cochran received a 4 percent increase to $312,000; B. Jean Ferketish, secretary to the Board of Trustees and assistant chancellor, received an increase of 5.9 percent ($180,000); Arthur S. Levine, senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, received a hike of 3.8 percent ($675,000); James V. Maher, senior vice chancellor and provost, received a 4.4 percent raise ($332,500), and Arthur G. Ramicone, vice chancellor for budget and controller, received a 6.5 percent raise ($245,000).

In addition to his base salary, Nordenberg will receive five annual deferred retention incentive payments on June 30. The five-year bonus program will give Nordenberg $75,000 for each year of service from July 1, 2002, through June 2007, if he stays at his job until then.

Maher, Cochran and Ramicone will receive deferred bonuses of $50,000 per year under the same conditions.

The trustees compensation committee approved extending the deferred payments program for the four senior officers beyond June 30. However, the trustees did not specify how much the retention bonuses would be, nor for how many years the program would be in place. Pitt spokesperson Robert Hill said, “Those details will be worked out at a future date.”

Nordenberg prefaced his recommendations to the committee by noting that while the University’s compensation pool was raised 3.25 percent this fiscal year, “almost 20 percent of faculty and more than 20 percent of staff got a raise of more than 5 percent.”

The chancellor said his team of senior administrative officers is “an absolutely outstanding group of professionals who are talented, tireless and totally committed to Pitt. By any measure this group is a meritorious group and also they are a group whose salaries are subject to competitive market pressures. This is most visibly true on the finance side, with our treasurer, who also functions as our chief investment officer.

“Amy has done a remarkable job with overseeing our endowment, our other investments and in her other treasury functions,” Nordenberg continued. “The increase I have recommended for Amy is unusually large, but it is fully justified, both in terms of her meritorious performance and in terms of what is a dramatically changed and more competitive environment for professionals in her area.”

Trustees vice chair Robert Hernandez, who presided at the meeting, praised the efforts of Nordenberg and the officers. “The fact that our capital campaign was able to exceed a record-breaking $1 billion in gifts and pledges this year, and do so ahead of schedule, is one clear and measurable sign of the overall progress our University has made under Chancellor Nordenberg and his leadership team,” Hernandez said. Other indicators of success include increased applications and better-credentialed students, as well as capital projects such as the opening of the Biomedical Science Tower 3 and Panther Hall, he added.

The University continued to enjoy outstanding levels of sponsored research funding, topping the $600 million mark last year, despite cuts in federal research funding, he said.

In addition to salary, Pitt senior officers also receive executive benefits that include: an automobile for personal and business use by the chancellor and by other officers as determined by the chancellor; personal liability insurance coverage of $5 million; group term life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance policies, each in the amount of $50,000, plus three times the salary rounded up to the next higher thousand; up to $5,000 per year for health care expenses not covered by basic insurance; up to $5,000 per year for tax preparation and financial planning services, and initiation fees and monthly dues for selected clubs.

Commenting on the board’s actions, University Senate President John Baker said, “Chancellor Nordenberg’s 3.5 percent pay raise [and] the percent raises for our other top administrators are consistent with a 3.25 percent increase in the salary pool. The chancellor’s salary and bonuses are not an issue because he does his job so well.

“It is my understanding that Amy Marsh has done an outstanding job as treasurer, so her exceptionally good pay raise reflects a job well done and the desire of the University to keep her as our treasurer.

“What is an issue to faculty and staff, however, is whether Pitt can also keep its salaries competitive. Faculty and staff have experienced two successive years in which the increase in their raise pool has been lower than the increase in the consumer price index, which has caused a loss in real wages for many. This must stop, otherwise Pitt will not remain competitive with other universities and businesses, and good employees will either leave or become disillusioned and stop working quite as hard.”

Staff Association Council President Rich Colwell said, “The Staff Association Council is in agreement with the salary increases approved for the senior administrators. SAC concurs that individuals should be appropriately compensated for their work. We were happy to review the findings, printed in the University Times on Nov. 22, that Pitt continues to have a healthy financial outlook. This success is a reflection on the senior administration in conjunction with the 6,000 staff members that support and facilitate the mission of the University.”

Colwell added that in the past he has not supported annual salary supplements, such as the one awarded this year to Cochran. “However, in the specific case of someone assuming other responsibilities or adding to a full-time position, that is something that is acceptable.”

—Peter Hart