Tax records show Wells College President Jonathan Gibralter was paid more than his counterparts at similarly sized institutions and received over $300,000 in bonuses, despite the school's financial struggles and declining enrollment.Ìý
A review of Wells College's 990 forms found Gibralter's base salary rose from $157,251, which covered the portion of the 2015-16 academic year when he became president, to $329,294 in 2021-22, the most recent year that information is available.Ìý
Gibralter received other benefits that appear to be common among college administrators, including retirement and other deferred payments that raised his total compensation to $368,020 in 2021-22.Ìý
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Ë®¹ûÅÉAV reviewed tax filings from seven other small private colleges in upstate New York, including two — Cazenovia College and The College of Saint Rose — that have either closed or will close this year. Gibralter was the highest-paid president among that group. Michael Brophy, president of Hilbert College near Buffalo, was paid $327,606 in 2021-22. No other president was paid more than $300,000 that year.Ìý
Ronald Chesbrough, who was president of Cazenovia College that closed last year, received $299,857 in total compensation. The presidents of Houghton University, Paul Smith's College and Villa Maria College were paid under $200,000.Ìý
However, the bonuses set Gibralter apart from those presidents. Beginning in 2016-17, he has been paid $310,986 in bonuses, including two $78,300 payments in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Even as enrollment declined and the college was in financial trouble, he received an $18,136 bonus in 2020-21 and $19,000 in 2021-22.Ìý
Gibralter wasn't the only Wells College administrator who received bonuses. Robert Cree, the college's vice president chief financial officer, was paid $48,966 in bonuses over a three-year period, from 2016-17 through 2018-19. Craig Evans, the college's former vice president for advancement, received $15,453 in bonuses in 2017-18 and 2018-19.Ìý
The bonuses for Cree and Evans were in addition to their base salaries, which exceeded $150,000 a year.Ìý
During the COVID-19 pandemic, tax filings show the bonuses to other administrators ceased, but Gibralter continued to collect additional compensation.Ìý
Wells College, which announced it will close at the end of the spring semester, has not made Gibralter available for an interview with Ë®¹ûÅÉAV.Ìý
In a letter announcing the closure, Gibralter and Marie Chapman Carroll, who chairs the college's board of trustees, said Wells "does not have adequate financial resources to continue." Tax records indicate the college has been losing revenue due to declining enrollment and became more reliant on outside funding, such as grants and donations.
There were attempts to keep the college open, including fundraising campaigns and new programs. But revenues, Chapman Carroll and Gibralter wrote, "are not projected to be sufficient for Wells' long-term financial stability."Â
Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.