University Times

Salaries of Pitt officers, highest paid faculty reported

Pitt's five highest paid professors during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 1998, were again from the School of Medicine, according to an IRS form that the University filed this month.

The professors were:

Robert B. Herberman, professor of medicine/pathology and associate vice chancellor for Health Sciences — $376,316 in salary (up from $361,331 the year before) and $35,360 in fringe benefits (down from $36,357).

Bartley P. Griffith, professor of cardiothoracic surgery — $350,600 in salary and $29,667 in benefits (down from $591,650 and $42,434, respectively, the year before).

Lawrence Dobson Ellis, visiting professor of medicine — $315,600 in salary (unchanged) and $38,271 in benefits (down from $38,942).

Arthur Michael Feldman, professor of medicine — $300,600 in salary and $39,615 in benefits.

Paul M. Paris, professor and chairperson of emergency medicine — $292,600 in salary and $35,772 in benefits.

Feldman and Paris did not make the top five list the previous year, so their 1996-97 compensation is not public information.

Pitt's administration does not voluntarily reveal salaries and benefits for individual employees except University senior officers whose compensation is set by the Board of Trustees compensation committee.

Compensation for two other officers, and for the five highest paid non-officer employees, is available because it is required on the IRS Form 990, which is a public document.

The IRS requires tax-exempt, private corporations such as Pitt to file Form 990 annually. The form is limited to salaries, benefits and allowances processed through the Pitt payroll system. So, for example, it does not include income that Health Sciences faculty earn for clinical work at the UPMC Health System.

Pitt's highest paid officer during FY 1997-98 was Thomas P. Detre, senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences and distinguished service professor — $438,600 in salary, $65,972 in benefits and $6,835 in expenses and other allowances.

Detre retired as senior vice chancellor Nov. 1, 1998. Since then, Arthur S. Levine has served as senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, with a salary of $498,000.

Levine's fringe benefits — and those of other Pitt officers — for the current fiscal year won't be announced until next year's Form 990, said University Director of Communications Ken Service.

Service said that's because, under Pitt's voluntary, contributory retirement plan, an individual employee's total contributions and the University's matching contributions aren't known for sure until the end of the fiscal year (although they can be projec ted pretty accurately based on an individual's salary and the percentage he or she allocates toward the retirement plan).

Other officers listed on Pitt's Form 990 for the 1997-98 fiscal year include:

* Carol Carter, vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement — $150,102 in salary (current salary: $154,000), $15,447 in benefits and $4,537 in expenses/allowances.

* Jerome Cochran, then-assistant chancellor, who last fall was promoted to executive vice chancellor — $168,465 in salary (currently: $200,000), $19,096 in benefits and $3,495 in expenses/allowances.

* Robert E. Dunkelman, secretary of the Corporation and Board of Trustees — $124,350 in salary (currently: $127,500), $19,048 in benefits and $2,050 in expenses/allowances.

* Robert P. Gallagher, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs, recently named permanent vice chancellor — $122,370 in salary and $3,593 in benefits. Pitt's administration refuses to disclose Gallagher's current compensation because, although he is a n officer of the University according to the IRS, his compensation is not set by the trustees' compensation committee. That number will, however, appear on next year's Form 990.

* James V. Maher Jr., provost and senior vice chancellor — $175,600 (currently: $210,000), $36,170 in benefits and $4,534 in expenses/allowances.

* Mark A. Nordenberg, chancellor and chief executive officer, and distinguished service professor — a total of $262,600 in salary and incentive pay (currently: $280,000, including $250,000 in base salary plus a $30,000 incentive bonus), $32,999 in benefi ts and $3,900 in expenses/allowances.

* Lewis M. Popper, general counsel, who left Pitt at the end of February 1998 — $90,233 in salary, $19,841 in benefits, $2,914 in expenses/allowances and $5,658 in educational benefits.

* Arthur G. Ramicone, interim vice chancellor for Finance, since named vice chancellor for Budget and Controller — $125,100 in salary and $18,027 in benefits. Like Gallagher's current compensation, Ramicone's won't be disclosed until next year's Form 990 .

The University's Form 990 also lists the five firms that received the most money from Pitt during FY 1997-98.

Pitt paid $782,603 to Pittsburgh certified public accountants Deloitte & Touche LLP for auditing University financial statements and for consulting work, mainly related to Pitt's PRISM on-line financial system.

The Pittsburgh law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott received $417,370 for work involving patents and other intellectual property, real estate and employee benefits.

The University paid another Pittsburgh law firm, Reed Smith Shaw & McClay, $408,594 primarily for employment litigation and patent law work.

Richmond, Va.-based consultant William M. Mercer received $356,593 for employee health benefits consulting.

Oracle Corp. of Chicago, Ill. was paid $307,223 for consulting related to the PRISM on-line financial system.

Pitt paid a total of $2.27 million to the five firms. That was down from the previous year's $3.53 million total and $2.39 million the year before that.

— Bruce Steele