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New Report Highlights Growing Compensation For Public University Executives

UNC President Margaret Spellings is the 13th highest paid public university president in the country, according to a new report. Photo courtesy UNC.

A new report shows that compensation continues to climb for public university executives. 

The survey finds UNC President Margaret Spellings is the 13th highest paid public university president in the United States. N.C State Chancellor Randy Woodson is not far behind, ranking 19th.

Spellings was paid just over $977,000 in 2017, while Woodson was compensated about $826,000.

The News & Observer reports Woodson's salary was inflated because of the terms of his contract, which allows for an annual stipend paid through a special University Leadership Fund at N.C. State, as well as performance bonuses.

UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt was further down the list, ranking 67th with a total pay of just over $604,000.

The annual report was published Sunday by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The highest paid president in 2017 was James Ramsey of the University of Louisville, who has since been ousted in a legal battle with the school. Ramsey's earnings topped $4 million.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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