By SUSAN JONES
Several of Pitt’s senior executives will receive 2.5% raises next year, but Chancellor Joan Gabel has requested that her raise instead be added to the staff’s Compensation Modernization project.
Gabel was hired in July 2023 at a base salary of $950,000 and was not eligible for a raise in 2024. The 2.5% increase she would have received for 2025 amounts to $23,750.
“This was the first cycle where I’ve been fully able to work with staff leadership on the compensation modernization program, but it was also a cycle where we had a limited raise pool — so deferring my salary increase is one small way to show that I’m serious about supporting the program,” Gabel said.
The other University officers receiving the 2.5% increase, which is in line with the staff salary raise pool this year, include:
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Provost Joe McCarthy: $558,625, up from the $543,000 salary set when he became provost in April.
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Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine: $1.11 million, up from $1.08 million.
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Rob Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research: $471,115; up from $441,946
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Geovette Washington, chief legal officer: $475,115; up from $464,030. The board decided earlier this year to give Washington, who has been at Pitt since 2015, retention payments of $200,000 by July 30, 2024, then $150,000 on July 30 of the next four years (2025-28) if she remains employed as the University’s chief legal officer.
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Jeffer Choudry, chief investment officer: $777,914; up from $758,940
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Paul Lawrence, treasurer: $439,753; up from $429,027
The other two University officers — Phil Bakken, secretary of the Board of Trustees, and Dwayne Pinkney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer — were not eligible for raises this year because they started at Pitt after June 1, 2024. Bakken, who started in June, makes $300,000 in base pay, while Pinkney was hired in July at a salary of $630,000.
The raises were recommended by the chancellor and approved by the Board of Trustees Executive Committee on Dec. 16.
“It’s hard to believe Chancellor Gabel has only been with us for just over 16 months,” said Board of Trustees Chair John Verbanac. “Her initial impact has been so great and immediate that it feels like she’s been with us for a much longer time.”
He cited the Plan for Pitt 2028, with its measurable goals, as one of her major accomplishments. Verbanac also said Gabel quickly assessed her leadership team and made moves to retain and attract talent, and she has steered the University through turbulent times over the past year, “and handled it all with a steady hand and superb crisis management skills. Higher education is facing numerous headwinds and will continue to, and Chancellor Gabel continues to find ways to ensure Pitt emerges from these challenges yet stronger.”
The committee also voted to extend the current deferred compensation incentive program for Shekhar. When he was hired in 2020, Shekhar’s deferral agreement was for $100,000 annually that he would receive if he stayed until May 31, 2025. Shekhar will not take the deferred funds from the first five-year period until the end of the 10-year period.
Chancellor Gabel also has a retention incentive plan that includes five annual $200,000 deferred payments that she will receive if she stays with the University through June 30, 2029. Pinkney will receive deferred compensation of $100,000 per year payable on year six if he stays in his current position at Pitt.
One of the trustees, SaLisa Berrien, asked how the raises and other compensation for senior leaders compare to the market dynamics for executive compensation in higher education.
Verbanac and Gabel said they constantly monitor the compensation market for these positions, even though that has become more difficult as the average time people stay in higher ed executive positions is five to six years.
Gabel said the University wants to “make sure that we’re remaining very competitive in how we assess the salaries of our very strong leadership team.”
One of the things the board’s compensation subcommittee is doing to help this process is looking for a new compensation consultant, Verbanac said. “We are at the final stage of that process right now, and I think it will result in us being able to more quickly access the marketplace and to do an even better job of determining amongst our peer group how we are performing.”
The new consultants will help in “defining our true peer group,” he said, and undertake a comprehensive review of the compensation philosophy, which was last updated in 2021.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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