I was surprised to read your paper's poor analysis of the new Form 990 release. The article was sensational and neglected consideration of DePauw's goals and place as a national institution. My main qualm came from comparing presidential pay at "comparable universities." Wabash College and Centre College are not peers with DePauw. Wabash's enrollment is less than half (900) that of DePauw, their school is all-male, and their 2012 endowment is more than $150 million less than DePauw. Centre is slightly larger than Wabash, but Centre's endowment pales in comparison to our own by a whole $200,000. Denison University, at least, makes a strong comparison. Their student body is of equal size to DePauw's, and their president makes only $100,000 less than Brian Casey. Their endowment, interestingly, is almost 50 percent larger than ours, according to US News and World Report.
These comparisons also neglect the fact that DePauw is actively working towards becoming a nationally-recognized private undergraduate institution, a household name like Amherst College or Vassar College. Some quick Internet research reveals that the presidents of those schools make $500,000 and $600,000, respectively. If DePauw wants to become a truly national university, then DePauw needs to attract top talent with competitive wages. I challenge anyone who says that our school administrators don't earn their salaries by continually improving and marketing DePauw.
Speaking of apples to oranges, I found it almost laughable that your paper then tried to create sensational "drama" by somehow equating a secretary's pay with that of Casey. Heidi Menzel is quoted as saying, "You see what the administration is making, and it's not even apples and oranges." It is, in fact, entirely apples to oranges. While the work of secretaries is important, it is not comparable to the work done campus-wide and nationally by the administration. Furthermore, the income disparity between hourly staff workers (Menzel is incorrectly referred to as faculty in the article) and the salaried administration is hardly newsworthy. I look forward to next year's riveting article about how Casey's compensation outstrips that of the custodial staff.