College economics 101: Presidents' pay rises 5.3 percent

Working at a public college can be lucrative -- for those at the top. 

Presidents of U.S. public colleges and universities saw their earnings climb by 5.3 percent last year, with several of them topping $1 million, according to an annual survey. The Chronicle of Higher Education's study of more than 150 college presidents found that their average annual pay increased in fiscal year 2016 to $501,000. READ MORE

See the results of IOWA FACULTY SALARIES.

Court dismisses stockholder derivative suit that challenged excessive equity awards to directors

In In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 12327-VCS (Del. Ch. Apr. 5, 2017), the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment, asserting that directors of Investors Bancorp, Inc. (“Company”) granted themselves equity compensation that was “excessive and unfair to the corporation”. Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights ruled against the plaintiffs due to the fact that the stockholder approved equity compensation plan included director-specific limits on equity compensation that the grants were within, and that the stockholder vote to adopt the equity compensation plan was fully informed and the stockholder approval constituted “ratification of the awards” READ MORE

Benefits Are a Large, Important Part of Total Compensation

The 2017 Society for Human Resource Management conference is in New Orleans this year, which I love. I got to stay with my sister and her 60-pound pit bull for a couple of days before entering Conference-land. We went on long walks in the heat, took a yoga class and ate some good food. We spent one Friday evening at a small Irish pub, where none of these non-HR professionals knew much about HR at all — but it still came up in conversation. READ MORE

How to negotiate compensation at a startup

Have you ever felt you were worth more than you were being paid? 

I hear you. And, I want you to know that you may never quite feel compensated for your complete worth. That’s a conversation to have internally. The number on your paycheck doesn’t define your full worth. The quality of your performance and success in executing goals will garner you the appreciation you deserve. READ MORE

Whole Foods' CEO Pay Discount Expires

Amazon's deal to buy Whole Foods may mark a number of things: the end of Whole Foods as an independent company; the end of grocery business; the end of the hard line between the internet and brick and mortar; the moment we should have known that Amazon was going to take over the economy, though I am not entirely convinced of that.

It will also mark the end of one of the most, perhaps only, reasonable executive compensation schemes in America. READ MORE

Say-on-pay laws increase company valuations, study finds

When shareholders have a say on executive pay, CEO salaries decline and company valuations rise, according to a University of Georgia study.

By analyzing financial data from more than 17,000 publicly traded companies in countries that have passed say-on-pay laws and countries that haven't, researchers found such laws tie CEO pay more closely to their company's performance and increase compensation equality among top managers. READ MORE