Kevin Cox, a Wake Forest spokesman, declines to talk about the makeup of Mr. Hearn's benefits, except to say that a special committee of the Board of Trustees determines the president's compensation each year. Secrecy over such benefits packages worries critics of high pay for leaders of nonprofit organizations. They charge that some college trustees, assuming that benefits receive less scrutiny than salaries, use presidents' benefits to inflate pay without drawing attention. Indeed, the Internal Revenue Service's 990 tax form, upon which The Chronicle bases its annual compensation survey, asks an institution to list its president's salary and benefits separately. Officials have to disclose only the total amount of benefits, including health and pension plans, and all forms of deferred compensation that were paid or approved in that year.
Some colleges provide footnotes to explain unusually large sums.
But they are not required to itemize the benefits, and most do not. They also don't like being asked about the details. Some executive-search experts point out that the size of presidents' benefits packages seems to increase toward the end of their term, especially if it marks the end of their career as well. Such is the case at Westminster College, in Utah, where Peggy A. Stock has been the president for five years. The deferred income is critical at her age, more so than current income.