4 North Carolina Public College Presidents Among Highest Paid Nationwide

Four North Carolina university presidents were among the highest-paid public college leaders nationwide in 2019. The survey was conducted by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Topping the 2019 list in North Carolina was former East Carolina University Chancellor Cecil Staton. Staton's total compensation, including salary and severance, was $884,277, which ranks as 34th in the nation. N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson was 37th, with total compensation of $874,712.

The News & Record reports other North Carolina leaders in the top 50 include Bill Roper, the outgoing interim president of the UNC system, and his predecessor Margaret Spellings. For both Staton and Spellings, severance pay was a major part of their compensation in 2019.

The nation's highest-paid public university president for the year was Mark Becker of Georgia State University in Atlanta. Most of his nearly $3 million in compensation was deferred from previous years.