Pleased with her accomplishments and in an effort to retain her, a group of University of Pittsburgh trustees voted to increase Chancellor Joan Gabel’s base salary to $1.25 million next year, a 32% raise.
Pitt’s compensation subcommittee voted Thursday to increase Gabel’s base pay, effective Jan. 1. She was hired at Pitt in 2023 at a base salary of $950,000.
In a statement after the vote, Gabel said she is grateful for the raise and is donating it to student causes at Pitt.
“With gratitude to the Board of Trustees for recognizing our shared successes, and with deep appreciation for this unique and challenging moment for many in our Pitt community, I am donating the raise this year to support students through our Finish Line Grants, to provide for faculty and staff who rely on our emergency funds, and to establish a scholarship in my parents’ honor that recognizes the power of Pitt teaching and research,” Gabel said.
“Serving as Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh is a profound honor, and I am grateful for the opportunity to support our people and our impact.”
The committee also approved annual retention bonuses for Gabel through 2030 and increased those payments from $100,000 per year to $150,000 in 2028, and $200,000 in 2029 and 2030, according to John Verbanac, chairman of the board of trustees.
They also recommended increasing the annual deferred compensation contribution to $500,000 per year, vesting in 2030.
“We recognize the tremendous momentum that the University of Pittsburgh is experiencing and want to ensure leadership continuity to sustain our upward trajectory,” Verbanac said.
Gabel’s new contract positions her at or around the median of her peer group in a competitive marketplace for higher education chief executives, Verbanac said.
He noted that 10 universities similar to Pitt are actively searching for chancellors.
A high turnover rate has driven increases in executive compensation packages through new contracts and retention efforts, he said.
“The University of Pittsburgh has experienced tremendous momentum in recent years, and the board recognizes that sustaining this trajectory requires retaining leaders who have been instrumental in our success,” he said.
There were no dissenting votes. Gabel abstained from voting.
Verbanac said Gabel’s accomplishments have included records in applications, research expenditures and graduation rates. For the fourth consecutive year, Pitt received more than $200 million in philanthropic gifts and commitments, he said.
“A Pitt degree has never been in higher demand than it is today,” Verbanac said.
Other administrators’ pay hikes
Pitt administrators will also see salary boosts.
Gabel recommended a 2.5% salary increase for nontrustee officers; a 15% market adjustment for the provost and senior vice chancellor; and a $50,000 per year deferred compensation program vesting in 2030.
There will also be a one-time $30,000 performance bonus for the vice chancellor and secretary of the board of trustees.
For those officers, base salaries next year are: Joseph P. McCarthy, provost and senior vice chancellor, $645,000; Dwayne L. Pinkney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer, $645,750; Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the school of medicine, $1.139 million; Rob A. Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research, $482,900; Geovette E. Washington, senior vice chancellor and chief legal officer, $487,500; Philip J. Bakken, vice chancellor and secretary of the board of trustees, $307,500; Jeffer Choudhry, chief investment officer, $797,360; and Paul Lawrence, treasurer, $450,750.
