WPI's Leshin is highest-paid private-college president in Central Mass.

WBJ File Laurie Leshin's pay in 2015 was the highest of any Worcester four-year institution.

Write a Comment

By Grant Welker

Worcester Polytechnic Institute President Laurie Leshin made $764,400 in 2015, the latest year with data available, according to a new database by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

That pay, which includes salary, bonuses and other compensation, makes her the highest-paid private-college president in Central Massachusetts. Michael Collins, the chancellor of the public UMass Medical School, made $938,075 in 2016, according to a database compiled by the Worcester Business Journal.

Leshin's pay included a $582,502 base pay, a $100,000 bonus, and $81,208 in what The Chronicle of Higher Education terms nontaxable pay, which includes benefits such as health and medical benefits, life insurance, housing (Leshin lives in WPI's president's residence), and personal legal and financial services. She earned $375,290 in 2014, when she took over as president halfway through the year.

The president of Boston-based MCPHS University, the college with a Worcester campus formerly known as the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, made far more.

Charles Monahan Jr., the MCPHS president since 1997, made $1,173,931 in 2015. That pay included a base salary of $746,000 and a bonus of $385,000. His pay in prior years was not included.

Assumption College President Francesco Cesareo earned $438,920 in 2015, which includes $85,569 in other benefits. His pay has increased substantially since his first full year, 2008, when he took home $298,648.

At Clark University, President David Angel made $382,234 in total pay in 2015. He has received more than $300,000 each year, including bonuses, since becoming the Clark president in 2010.

The Rev. Philip Boroughs, the president at the College of the Holy Cross, has taken no salary or benefits since taking the college's top position in 2012.

Anna Maria College, Becker College, Nichols College and Worcester State University are not listed in the Chronicle's report.

Susan West Engelkemeyer, the Nichols president, made $543,404 in the 12 months ending in June 2015, according to a WBJ database.

Among the highest pay for a president in the country in 2015 was Robert Brown, the head of Boston University, who took home nearly $2.5 million.