Private Colleges

Stevenson University had the highest income disparity between its president — who made $1.49 million in 2009 — and rank-and-file professors, according to a salary survey of hundreds of institutions released Monday by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Kevin J. Manning ranked 15th in compensation among the 519 presidents in the survey. Former Johns Hopkins President William J. Brody ranked second on the overall list, receiving $3.8 million, almost all from his retirement package, in his last year on the job. The Chronicle used Manning's salary to illustrate a significant gap between executive compensation and salaries given to most university employees, comparing the situation at the private college to the oft-criticized pay packages for CEOs in corporate America.

Jonathan Jayes-Green graduated near the top of his high school class but couldn't afford to attend the four-year colleges that accepted him. Now he's an honor student at two-year Montgomery College, and he'd like to head off cuts to the school's budget. The second-year student from Silver Spring was one of hundreds from Maryland's community and independent colleges rallied in Annapolis and lobbied legislators Thursday to avert cuts in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed higher education spending.

WASHINGTON -- With their private colleges and universities pinched by the recession, nearly 1,000 presidents, trustees and other officials held a two-day "summit" this week, primarily to lobby the government for more student aid and faculty research funds. " . . . we are trying to impress upon the Congress and the administration that they should give us serious attention," A.E. Hughes, president of the University of San Diego and summit chairman, said yesterday. But underlying the workshops and visits to government offices was a growing consensus that more than fresh funds would be needed to solve financial problems.

Regarding your recent story about Stevenson University president Kevin Manning ("Report: Stevenson chief among highest-paid at private colleges," Dec. 5): Since leaving Towson in 1978, I have served on the boards of 10 colleges and universities and two preparatory schools, and I can say from experience that no college president in America has been more effective than Mr. Manning at Stevenson. During a generally declining period, he has increased enrollment, academic programs, faculty credentials and private support for the school.

Jonathan Jayes-Green graduated near the top of his high school class but couldn't afford to attend the four-year colleges that accepted him. Now he's an honor student at two-year Montgomery College, and he'd like to head off cuts to the school's budget. The second-year student from Silver Spring was one of hundreds from Maryland's community and independent colleges rallied in Annapolis and lobbied legislators Thursday to avert cuts in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed higher education spending.

The way Richard Graham sees it, the state has better things to do with $24 million than give it to a group of private colleges that includes wealthy Johns Hopkins University and a Baltimore cooking school.For one, says Dr. Graham, how about saving his chemistry department at Towson State University? It's one of about 100 programs in the University of Maryland system now on the budget chopping block."I am absolutely opposed. There's no way that we should busing public money to fund private schools," said Dr. Graham.

For three decades, Maryland has given public dollars to its private colleges at levels higher than almost anywhere else in the country. But now, lawmakers and public education allies are asking: Can a strapped state continue to give millions in unrestricted aid to the Johns Hopkins University, Loyola College and 15 other private institutions? Call it the $43 million question. That is the amount the state gives annually to Maryland's private colleges under a formula based on student population.

Although academia is not traditionally known for high salaries, 27 presidents of private colleges earned more than $500,000 last year, a survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education shows. The survey of 595 private colleges found that the median pay for the presidents of research universities increased 30 percent from the 1997 fiscal year to the 2001 fiscal year. In contrast, the pay for presidents of liberal arts colleges grew by 4 percent in that period. But the survey, to be published tomorrow, found that the president of a liberal arts college topped last year's chart.

When Gov. Martin O'Malley brought his latest package of budget cuts to the Board of Public Works on Wednesday, some of the loudest objections came from Maryland's private colleges and universities, which faced a $9 million reduction in the funding they have traditionally received to help pay for financial aid for Maryland students and to support educational programs that public universities don't offer. They succeeded in knocking the cut to what is known as the Sellinger program down to $7 million, but even that, college officials say, is an extreme hardship.

THE MARYLAND Independent College and University Association celebrates its 30th anniversary today, and it's appropriate that ceremonies will revolve around the General Assembly and Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who is scheduled to play host to an evening reception at Government House. It is the governor and legislators, after all, who have blessed private colleges in Maryland with one of the most generous public aid plans in the nation. The 14 eligible colleges (of 18 MICUA members) get more than $1,300 per student annually from Maryland taxpayers, and they can spend the money any way they choose.

Stevenson University had the highest income disparity between its president — who made $1.49 million in 2009 — and rank-and-file professors, according to a salary survey of hundreds of institutions released Monday by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Kevin J. Manning ranked 15th in compensation among the 519 presidents in the survey. Former Johns Hopkins President William J. Brody ranked second on the overall list, receiving $3.8 million, almost all from his retirement package, in his last year on the job. The Chronicle used Manning's salary to illustrate a significant gap between executive compensation and salaries given to most university employees, comparing the situation at the private college to the oft-criticized pay packages for CEOs in corporate America.

When Gov. Martin O'Malley brought his latest package of budget cuts to the Board of Public Works on Wednesday, some of the loudest objections came from Maryland's private colleges and universities, which faced a $9 million reduction in the funding they have traditionally received to help pay for financial aid for Maryland students and to support educational programs that public universities don't offer. They succeeded in knocking the cut to what is known as the Sellinger program down to $7 million, but even that, college officials say, is an extreme hardship.

The Independent 529 Plan is three years old this week, and the prepaid tuition plan for private colleges has reason to celebrate. The treatment of prepaid plans under the federal financial aid formula became more attractive earlier this year. The federal pension law passed last month guaranteed the plan's very existence and made tax-free withdrawals permanent. (Tax provisions that allowed the plan to be created and permitted tax-free withdrawals for college expenses were set to expire in 2011.

WASHINGTON -- The Republican-controlled House is expected to pass a measure today that would require colleges and universities to justify large tuition increases to the federal government and let Washington know how they plan to hold down costs in the future. Supporters of the provision, which is part of a broader higher-education bill, say that it would offer more information to prospective students and their parents, and give them a better glimpse of how much they can expect to pay at private and public colleges.

APRIL CAN be the cruelest month for those who didn't "get in" to the selective college of their choice. By now, the letters have arrived - thin envelopes for the rejections, thick envelopes with instructions and registration forms for those accepted. Joy for those who hit the jackpot, disappointment, even bitterness, for those who didn't. For those seniors feeling the sting of a rejection, there is little consolation in this fact: That turn-down by Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, College Park or any other college or university is actually a feather in the rejecting school's cap. It will show up next September in U.S. News & World Report as an indicator of the college's quality.

THERE WAS some panic in the land last week when news came out that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. wanted to shift millions of dollars in college scholarships from programs based on academic ability to those based on financial need. A Harford County mother, for example, called a radio talk show. Her son, she said, is an honors student, a senior at Fallston High School with his heart set on attending the University of Maryland. But the threat that merit-based financial aid might dry up if Ehrlich has his way prompted the family to look at out-of-state schools.

With standout students in tow, the presidents of Maryland's private colleges descended on Annapolis yesterday to urge lawmakers to retain a threatened program that sends $43 million in state money to their schools. On an annual lobbying visit, the presidents said their schools would be devastated under a proposal by legislative analysts to slash taxpayer funding of private colleges to $21 million a year. Analysts recommended last week that the state base its support of 17 private colleges on in-state student enrollments, rather than on the schools' total population, thus cutting the funding by half.

RECENT HEADLINES have screamed about how public colleges and universities in Maryland, Virginia and across the country have predicted significant --sometimes double-digit -- increases in tuition for next year and, in some cases, in mid-year. In Maryland, it has been suggested that tuition be doubled at our flagship public university. What has not made the news is the ever-narrowing gap between the cost of a four-year education at public and at private institutions. Today, and this may come as a surprise, through merit scholarships and need-based grants, tuition at schools such as Goucher, McDaniel, Hood or Villa Julie colleges, is less expensive than at the University of Maryland.