University Bosses See Pay Rise Ten Percent: University leaders have seen pay rise by an average of 5.5% between 2011-2012, with more than a fifth receiving an increase in remuneration of more than 10%. A further third of vice-chancellors received a rise of between 5% and 10% according to the Times Higher Education’s annual pay survey. These rises have been announced at a time when university staff have seen their real-term wages fall by 13 percent since 2009; several strikes by university staff have taken place in recent months.

University Bosses See Pay Rise Ten Percent

Among the vice-chancellors to receive the largest pay rises are Sir Keith Burnett of the University of Sheffield. Naming Burnett as one of ‘the most outstanding leaders in the sector’, pro chancellor Tony Pedder said that the pay rise reflected the vice-chancellor’s ‘national and international standing’ as well as the responsibility he takes for leading a world class and complex organisation. Sir Keith Burnett received a 26% overall pay rise – taking his earning from £265,000 previously to £370,000 in 2012-13. The rise has come under attack from several commentators, as Sheffield University has previously refused to pay a living wage (£7.65 per hour) to its lowest paid workers – even going as far as to setup a subsidiary company, Unicus, to avoid having to pay wages within the pay guidelines for higher education.

Similarly, Martin Bean, the vice-chancellor of the Open University, received a pay rise of 10.9% – making his overall pay and pension package the third highest in the sector at a total of £407,000. This increase comes at a time when the OU is seeing a drop in student numbers (down 16% in 2012-13) and when it’s operational surplus has halved to £18.8m due to a fall in part-time student numbers. The Open University did, however, point out that Mr Bean took a 10% pay cut in 2010-11 and that this increase was partly to restore his income after the University had adjusted to the new tuition fee system. A spokesman also added that the OU is the UK’s largest university, with more than 200,000 students.

Michael Holman, the Catholic priest who leads Heythrop College at the University of London, receives a salary of £10,500.

However, the London School of Economics takes first place in terms of paying its leadership team, with Craig Calhoun, the University’s director, taking home £466,000 in 2012-13. Whilst £88,000 of this sum covered Calhoun’s move from the US to London, the remaining figure is still around £100,000 higher than that received by LSE’s previous permanent director Sir Howard Davies (£285,000) in his last full year at the university (2009-10). Bringing Calhoun from the United States may also account for the high level of remuneration – there were 42 US colleges who paid their presidents in excess of £1m in 2011 (around £605,000).

Excluding Michael Holman, the Catholic priest who leads Heythrop College at the University of London (£10,500) and the directors of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (£43,000); the average basic pay for a university vice-chancellor stands at £226,789 in 2012-13. When pension payments are included this figure rises to £254,692 – a 3.3% rise on 2011-12.