President Capilouto's Compensation

Background:

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently released its annual compensation survey of university presidents. In response to questions about President Capilouto’s compensation, UK provided the following statement and background:

Statement:

“Compensation should be a reflection of the record of accomplishment. As I said in 2016 when we examined President Capilouto’s compensation, we exist in a marketplace. A contract should reflect that fact. Our board believes strongly that with Eli Capilouto, the University of Kentucky has made exceptional progress. Consider the record of his eight years as president: UK’s highest ever retention and graduation rates; increasing first-year enrollment; more than $1 billion in private donations raised since 2013, with more and more being invested in our nationally recognized effort to reduce unmet financial need for students; a growing research enterprise focused directly on Kentucky’s most pressing challenges, including the largest research grant in the history of the university — a nearly $90 million effort to stop the scourge of death from opioids in our state; the lowest successive levels of tuition increases in more than 30 years; seven consecutive years of salary increases for our faculty and staff; and $2.4 billion in investment in our campus and its renewal, the vast majority of which is the result of fund-raising and partnerships. 

Finally, with respect to our board and its role, our goal has been to seek greater transparency with respect to presidential compensation. To that end, we removed provisions related to annual performance bonuses as well as the exclusive use of a university-owned vehicle. And, as a board, we evaluated President Capilouto’s compensation in the context of his peers, particularly in the SEC and publicly released the results to underscore our commitment to transparency and openness.” — Britt Brockman, chair, UK Board of Trustees

President Capilouto received a 2% salary increase 7/1/19 bringing his base salary to $838,334. 

He received a 1.5% increase 7/1/18. Both these percentages were the pool amounts used for the (non-healthcare) University. Additionally, he received a $688,198. payout of deferred compensation 7/1/18 which is a retention plan spanning the years 2014-2018. The 688,000 is composed of $120,000 annually for years 2014-2018, plus the earnings of $88,198. The president does not receive any other bonuses. To get the same amount as the Chronicle one needs to add an additional 24,000 of non-taxable benefits, (employer part of health insurance premium, life insurance premium, etc.)