Education
Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, is the highest-paid college leader in Massachusetts by a wide margin.
Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, reported a total compensation of more than $3 million in Fiscal Year 2025. Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe
July 5, 2026 | 11:00 AM
1 minute to read
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.
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