How does KSU president’s salary stack up to other employees?

Graphic by Audrey Fletcher, Lauren Friedman and Ryan Dunn  

Marissa Barnhart

Earning a base salary of $450,000 per year, Kent State President Beverly Warren sits at the top of Kent State’s salary pool. 

Although Warren’s six-figures isn’t unusual for university presidents, about .06 percent of university employees earn more than $100,000. The university’s employee database totals 5,725 faculty, staff and administrators. 

According to a 2013 Salary Survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the national average base salary for presidents of public universities is $356,730. The average base salary for Ohio university presidents who completed a full fiscal year was $457,001.44. 

Last week, The Kent Stater analyzed the contracts of the four new Ohio university presidents. Jim Tressel of Youngstown State University earns an annual base salary of $300,000, Scott Scarborough of the University of Akron earns an annual base salary of $450,000 and Michael Drake of Ohio State University earns an annual base salary of $800,000.

Former Kent State President Lester Lefton earned a base salary of $417,000 in 2013, and he currently earns $434,678.80 while on sabbatical. 

Warren’s salary is higher than Lefton’s and the national average, but it is lower than the average for Ohio presidents. The Kent Stater analyzed the university’s employee database to determine the top 10 earners and to see how many deans’ and professors’ salaries equal what Kent State’s leader makes per year. 

Contact Marissa Barnhart at [email protected].