A Compensation Comparison: Determinants of Compensation for Chief Executive Officers and University Presidents

The compensation of chief executive officers has long been an alluring and controversial topic, especially in light of the rapid rise in CEO earnings over the past several decades, which has provoked discussion on the manner in which CEOs are monetarily rewarded. Recently, university presidents have joined company CEOs in the public spotlight, as increasing levels of compensation for college presidents have also sparked scrutiny and debate. This paper examines the determinants behind CEO compensation and investigates the extent to which insights on these factors compare to the compensation determinants of chief executives at universities. Ultimately, this study finds similarities between the determinants of compensation for these two executive groups, specifically in the significance of organization size, type, and performance, as well as personal executive characteristics such as gender and tenure. The findings therefore suggest that these executives have similar job responsibilities, and the results also possess important insights and applications to relevant issues regarding executive compensation