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May 25, 1995

Pitt reports salaries of officers & highest paid University employees

for fiscal year 1993-94

Lyndon Michael Hill, an associate professor of obstetrics, was Pitt's highest paid employee last year, according to an Internal Revenue Service form filed by the University May 15.

Hill received $514,723 in salary, $27,404 in benefits and $2,375 in expenses and other allowances during the Pitt fiscal year that ended June 30, 1994, according to the IRS Form 990.

Pitt's second-highest paid employee, and the highest paid officer of the University, was Thomas Detre, senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences. Detre received $401,375 in salary, $57,624 in benefits and $9,088 in expenses and other allowances.

Form 990s are filed annually by Pitt and other institutions classified by the IRS as tax-exempt, private corporations. Pitt's form lists the salaries and other compensation of University officers and the five highest paid non-administrative employees, among other fiscal information.

However, the compensation figures on the Form 990 are limited to salaries, benefits and allowances processed through the Pitt payroll system. They do not include income paid by clinical practice plans and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals.

Therefore, the employees listed as "highest paid" on the Form 990 are not necessarily the people who get the highest total compensation from University-related sources, said Pitt assistant controller James Vesco. Nor does the form reveal the non-payroll system income, if any, of the employees whose names appear on the form, Vesco said.

In addition to compensation data, Pitt's Form 990 lists:

* The five professional firms that received the most money from the University last year.

* Business connections between Pitt trustees and banks to which the University owes money.

* Special low-interest mortgages provided by Pitt to University officers.

* Bond indebtedness. At the end of FY 1993-94, the University's bond debts totaled $297,215,000.

After Lyndon Michael Hill, Pitt's highest paid non-officer employees in FY 1993-94 were: Edward J. Benz Jr., professor of medicine — $330,569 in salary, $31,707 in benefits and $4,750 in expenses and other allowances. Benz, currently chairperson of the medical school's Department of Medicine, has announced that he will leave Pitt for Johns Hopkins University. There, he will become director of the department of medicine and chief physician at the university's hospital.

Ronald B. Herberman, professor of medicine and pathology — $324,713 in salary and $28,892 in benefits.

Charles D. Bluestone, professor of otolaryngology — $305,812 in salary and $30,584 in benefits.

Thomas W. Braun, associate dean of the School of Dental Medicine and professor — $287,917 in salary, $17,181 in benefits and $4,750 in expenses and other allowances. According to Vesco, Braun made the list mainly because the dental school does not have a practice plan, so his clinical earnings were processed through the University payroll system.

Besides Thomas Detre, the University officers listed on Pitt's Form 990 were:

Jeffrey Romoff, senior vice chancellor, Health Administration, and president of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center — $320,400 in salary, $36,174 in benefits and $11,094 in expenses and other allowances.

J. Dennis O'Connor, chancellor and professor — $226,176 in salary, $29,103 in benefits and $3,975 in expenses and other allowances.

Ben J. Tuchi, senior vice chancellor, Business and Finance, and treasurer — $157,938 in salary, $26,928 in benefits and $3,468 in expenses and other allowances.

Lawrence M. Weber, vice chancellor, Institutional Advancement — $154,350 in salary, $26,934 in benefits and $5,031 in expenses and other allowances.

Mark A. Nordenberg, interim senior vice chancellor and provost — $130,468 in salary, $20,926 in benefits and $6,679 in expenses and other allowances. Nordenberg has since returned to Pitt's School of Law as a distinguished professor of law.

Robert E. Dunkelman, secretary of the Corporation and Board of Trustees — $113,350 in salary, $21,268 in benefits and $1,187 in expenses and other allowances.

William W. Harmon, vice chancellor, Student Affairs — $100,207 in salary, $15,220 in benefits and $851 in expenses and other allowances. Harmon left Pitt in September 1994 to become vice president for Student Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Donald Henderson, senior vice chancellor, provost and professor — $26,317 in salary, $6,585 in benefits and $5,025 in expenses and other allowances. Henderson retired from Pitt in summer 1993.

Two officers, Detre and Romoff, have outstanding balances on special low-interest (5 percent) mortgages obtained through a University benefit for administrators. The program stopped accepting new participants in 1991. Participants are not required to repay their mortgages until six months after leaving Pitt. Romoff owes $208,250 on his mortgage; Detre owes $147,050.

According to the IRS form, the five firms paid the most by Pitt last year were from Pittsburgh. Architects Burt Hill Kosar Rittelman received $412,007 primarily for design work on the proposed Children's Youth Center project at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, a project that recently was put on hold (see May 11 University Times); for renovating Pitt labs and academic spaces; and surveying academic, housing and food service areas to help the University meet requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1993.

Certified public accountants Deloitte & Touche received $411,983 primarily for University and sponsored program audits and other consulting work.

Reed Smith Shaw & McClay was paid $362,871 for assisting in employment litigation and patent law. Another law firm, Eckert Seamans Cherin Mellott, received $345,141 for work involving patents, real estate and employee benefits.

Architects Bohlin Cywinski Jackson received $212,643 primarily for design services related to completion of interior construction work at the Biotechnology Center.

A new section of this year's IRS Form 990 required Pitt to list trustees and administrators who are affiliated with lending institutions to which the University owes money on mortgages and notes payable. For FY 1993-94, the nine men were: John M. Arthur, trustee emeritus, who is a member of the Mellon Bank Corp. advisory board; Frank V. Cahouet, trustee, chairman and chief executive officer of Mellon Bank Corp.; J. W. Connolly, trustee, a Mellon Bank Corp. director (Connolly will become chairperson of Pitt's Board of Trustees in June); George A. Davidson Jr., trustee, a director of PNC Bank Corp.; John C. Marous, trustee, a member of the Mellon Bank Corp. advisory board; Thomas H. O'Brien, trustee, chairman and chief executive officer of PNC Bank Corp.; J. Dennis O'Connor, chancellor and trustee, a director of PNC Bank, N.A.; Seth E. Schofield, trustee, a director of PNC Bank, N.A.; and Thomas J. Usher, trustee, a director of PNC Bank Corp.

— Bruce Steele


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