Northeastern University president’s compensation exceeds $3 million

The highest-paid college president in Massachusetts now has a reported compensation exceeding $3 million, records show.

Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, has long been one of the highest-paid college leaders statewide, but new data showed his income crossing an unprecedented threshold. Aoun, who stepped into the role of president in 2006, reported a total compensation of $3,045,428 for Fiscal Year 2025, according to the Boston Business Journal.

In recent years, Aoun’s pay has skyrocketed. From FY21 to FY22, his total compensation made a sharp 113 percent increase from $1.27 million to $2.7 million, according to The Huntington News, Northeastern’s independent student newspaper.

This compensation boost was primarily due to Aoun collecting roughly $700,000 in previously deferred compensation and $550,000 in bonus and incentive pay. A deferred compensation package was responsible for Aoun’s similarly high compensation of $3,027,684 in FY2012, The Huntington News reported.

Aoun’s earnings exceed that of Sally Kornbluth, the next highest-paid college president, by nearly $1 million. Kornbluth, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reported a total compensation of $2,151,788 for FY25, the Boston Business Journal reported.

Kornbluth and Aoun were the only presidents with total compensations exceeding $2 million, but seven others reported more than $1 million in yearly income. These presidents and their reported compensations are as follows:

• Melissa Gilliam, Boston University: $1,704,300
• Alan Garber, Harvard University: $1,642,838
• Sunil Kumar, Tufts University: $1,356,483
• Paula Johnson, Wellesley College: $1,364,215
• Chris Hopey, Merrimack College: $1,231,390
• E. LaBrent Chrite, Bentley University: $1,148,725
• Jay Bernhardt, Emerson College: $1,050,166

Maud Mandel, of Williams College; Marisa Kelly, of Suffolk University; Mark Thompson, of Wentworth Institute of Technology; and Lynn Perry Wooten, of Simmons University, all also reported notably high compensations. In FY 2025, they earned $992,690, $964,487, $825,775, and $657,025, respectively, according to the Boston Business Journal.