Presidential Compensation Growing Faster Than SLUSAF

From 2023 to 2024, the St. Lawrence University Student Activity Fund increased by 4.4 percent. At the same time, the compensation for SLU President Kathyrn Morris went up by 42.2 percent.

The estimated SLUSAF funds were calculated by multiplying the amount of students by the yearly student activities fee, which has changed year to year. Most recently it was at the cost of $440 per SLU student. SLUSAF is designed to fund clubs and other student groups and is administered by the Thelomathesian Society, SLU’s student government.

SLU’s presidential salary is courtesy of the university’s 990 tax filings, which were made available via ProPublica’s non-profit explorer tool. President Morris’s salary increased from $302,941 to $514,877 from 2023 to 2024. The average salary for a university president in the United States is $186,961.

Overall, the SLUSAF fund is estimated to have been trending downward since 2020. Presidential compensation has also trended slightly down over that period as well, however, it rose significantly in 2024.

Over the same time period, the Director of Admissions’, Florence Hines, salary went from $236,168 to $257,141. Inversely, enrollment went from 2,145 students to 2,089, which aligns with national admissions trends.

At the same time, SLU is facing an $11.5 million deficit. That financial reality led the university to buy out 14 professors last spring, cutting into the educational aspect of the institution.

Last year, the president of Clarkson University made $172,851, SUNY Canton’s president made $268,017, and SUNY Potsdam’s $275,000.

SLU’s next round of tax filings, including the 990 which includes the university’s top 50 salaries, is expected to be released to the public in June of 2025. Salary and student fund decisions will be help dictate how the university prioritizes their financial allocations as they navigate their structural deficit.