THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512230398
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Because of a recent change in state law, former U.S. Sen. Paul S. Trible Jr. will be one of the state's best-paid public university presidents when he takes over at Christopher Newport University.
The General Assembly this year voided an agreement between the governor and university boards that limited the amount of private money that could be used to supplement state money for a school president's salary.
Christopher Newport board members say they were aware of the change in making the decision to pay Trible tens of thousands of dollars more than outgoing President Anthony R. Santoro. Trible will take over Jan. 2.
The board voted this week to pay Trible $150,000. The state will pay him $90,355, the same amount Santoro received. But Christopher Newport's private foundation will pay Trible $59,645, compared with the $23,024 it paid Santoro.
Christopher Newport Rector David Peebles said Trible is worth that because he will be asked to take a more active role than other university presidents when it comes to fund-raising and serving as a liaison between the university and state and federal lawmakers.
All of the presidents of Virginia's 15 public universities receive money from private foundations to supplement the money the state pays them.
Only one other public college president in the state will receive more private money next year than Trible. Virginia Military Institute Superintendent Josiah Bunting III, the highest-paid leader of a public university in Virginia, makes $192,000 per year: $96,947 from the state and $95,053 in private money.
The extra private money given to Trible boosts his salary above the salary of Ronald E. Carrier, who has been president of James Madison University for 25 years. Carrier makes $141,759 - $99,383 from the state, $36,139 in private money and a one-time bonus of $6,237. James Madison is twice as large as Christopher Newport and offers 23 more bachelor's degrees and 17 more master's degrees than Christopher Newport.
Trible also makes more than Old Dominion University President James V. Koch and at least six others, including longtime presidents Harrison B. Wilson, who has been at Norfolk State University for 20 years; and George W. Johnson, according to a survey this week by the Daily Press of Newport News.
According to a survey this year by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Trible's salary will be higher than most of his peers nationwide.
The association places Christopher Newport in a category of 64 small public universities offering mostly bachelor's degrees. Of the 47 universities in the group who responded to the survey, the average president's salary was $100,462 for the 1994-95 school year, said association spokesman Steve Grant.
The highest paid in the group was University of Southern Colorado President Robert Shirley, who made $138,000 during the 1994-95 school year.
``When we do our survey again, if Christopher Newport responds,'' Grant said, ``it looks like Trible will be at the top of the list.'' by CNB