February 26, 1998 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The median pay for chief development officers at colleges and universities rose 2.5 per cent last year, to $80,000, according to a new report by the College and University Personnel Association. But for those who served as both chief development and public-relations officers at undergraduate institutions, it was up 22 per cent, to $81,200.
The median salary for directors of corporate and foundation relations rose 7.9 per cent, to $51,930, last year, according to the report, but at two-year colleges it rose 18 per cent, to $51,118.
A median-salary figure means that half the officials in the group made more and half made less.
Not all college fund raisers received significant increases. Directors of major gifts at institutions that offer doctoral degrees received median pay of $68,881 — less than a 1-per-cent increase and below last year’s inflation rate of 1.7 per cent.
The report is based on the personnel association’s survey of 170 administrative positions at 1,515 institutions. For all job types, it found an increase in median salaries of 4.6 per cent, compared with 3.7 per cent in 1996-97.
The year-to-year comparisons should be viewed cautiously because the number of institutions that participate in the survey varies annually. In addition, some categories of administrators include so few respondents that the figures might not be representative.
Pay rates vary widely, depending on the size and kind of college where a fund raiser works.
At doctorate-granting institutions, the median salary for chief development officers is $121,075, up 1.2 per cent from last academic year.
At colleges that grant bachelor’s and master’s degrees only, chief development officers receive a median salary of $83,138, a 3.9-per-cent rise.
Every institution that is a member of the College and University Personnel Association will receive a copy of the “Administrative Compensation Survey: 1997-98.” Additional copies are available from the association at 1233 20th Street, N.W., Suite 301, Washington 20036-1250; (202) 429-0311, ext. 395. The price is $80 for association members that participated in the survey, $130 for members that did not participate, $180 for non-members that participated, and $300 for others.
