Brody named highest-paid Univ. President

By: Anya Remole

Posted: 9/27/07

President William Brody is the highest-paid university president in the United States, according to a report published by the Chronicle of Philanthropy on Sept. 20.

Brody, who in addition to his responsibilities to Hopkins, serves on multiple corporate boards, joined IBM's board of trustees in June.

In 2006, Brody received a salary of $1.49 million and $235,260 in allowances and benefits from Hopkins, according to the report. The Chronicle of Philanthropy noted, however, that $920,438 of this money was a deferred-compensation benefit from the University. Of all the leaders of the 249 non-profit organizations surveyed for the report, Brody was the third-highest paid. These figures, however, do not include the earnings he receives from sitting on corporate boards, or the earnings he will receive this year from IBM.

"He is a businessman, administrator, physician … and has been successful at all," said Jerry Schnydman, Brody's executive assistant and secretary of the Board of Trustees. According to Schnydman, Brody has the valuable experience of running a large conglomerate. "Johns Hopkins would be a Fortune-500 company if it was for-profit," he said, adding that Brody's experience and insight is what the companies want.

"We are delighted that [Brody] will be joining the IBM board, bringing with him extensive experience as a leader of a world-renowned teaching and research institution that will be extremely beneficial to IBM," said Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer of IBM. Palmisano is a 1973 Hopkins graduate and former University trustee. Brody's responsibilities as a member of the board are to work with the other 12 members and to help set the overall policy of the company, Edward Barbini, one of IBM's Media Relations contacts, explained.

While sitting on corporate boards is not one of Brody's official duties as University president, it brings connections between Hopkins and other high-tech organizations and allows for points of contact for collaboration, according to Dennis O'Shea, executive director of the Office of Communications and Public Affairs at Hopkins.

"Hopkins is on the cutting edge of technology," O'Shea said, "and it makes sense to be involved with companies that are the same."

O'Shea said he believes having Brody involved in the leadership of such a technologically advanced company will serve Hopkins well.

"Brody was invited to join the IBM board because of his skills," Schyndman said. He is "multi-talented," Schnydman said, pointing to Brody's M.S. and B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford. Brody has also founded three start-up companies.

Not all of the roughly 3,000 university presidents nationwide are as successful or as in demand as Brody, Schnydman said, explaining that "presidents who are in demand are well-qualified to advise companies."

Brody is far from the norm among college presidents, and his appointment brings acclaim to Hopkins because it is a prestigious board, he said.

Brody is also involved with other corporations, based across a wide variety of backgrounds and interests.

According to his profile on the Hopkins Web site, he is currently a trustee of the Commonwealth Fund and of the Baltimore Community Foundation. He is also a member of the executive committee on the Council of Competitiveness, the International Academic Advisory Panel in Singapore, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the selectors committee for the Goldseker Foundation.

He is also a former member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, the board of the Minnesota Orchestra Association and the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"It is a great statement that these many boards seek his participation," Schnydman said.

According to Schnydman, Brody is a very sought after person for both profit and non-profit boards.

"He's been in demand for years," Schnydman said.

Brody turns away most offers, which number about two to four a year, because of the time commitment, Schnyman said.

According to Schnydman Brody has "become nationally known for his expertise as an academician, in medicine, in the business world" and has been "extremely successful" at what he has done.

"Over the years, people have taken notice of his important, and in my opinion, accurate views" in many areas, including his tremendous success in managing a university, a hospital and a health office, Schnydman said.

Brody has also worked very hard to avoid conflicts of interest between the boards he serves on and the University, Schnydman said.