Compensation of Presidents, Provosts, and Professors at US Public Universities.

This article examines the determinants of compensation for presidents, provosts, and faculty at U.S. public universities, with a particular focus on the influence of governing board structures. Using Seemingly Unrelated Regressions on data from 2016–2017, the study finds that institutional size, financial resources, and research mission positively affect pay across all three groups, though faculty salary increases are smaller in magnitude. Presidents and provosts who are external hires receive higher compensation than internal hires or alumni, while those serving at universities with autonomous (independent) boards earn significantly more than those governed by systemwide boards; this board effect does not extend to faculty salaries. Additionally, a longer tenure overlap between presidents and provosts correlates with higher provost pay, suggesting interpersonal dynamics influence compensation beyond institutional factors.