The former president of the University of Pennsylvania was the highest-paid leader of a private college in 2021, according to The Chronicle’s annual analysis of executive compensation at private nonprofit institutions. It is the highest payout documented since 2008, when The Chronicle began collecting data on such compensation.

In her last year at the university, before stepping down in early 2022 to become the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann received almost $23 million in total compensation. About 89 percent of that amount came from deferred compensation, set aside over the course of her 18-year tenure as president. In its Form 990, filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the university states that the compensation was “in recognition of Dr. Gutmann’s outstanding service as Penn’s president, as well as for retention purposes.” In 2020, Gutmann also received a $3.7-million loan from the university, on which she has not made any payments, according to the university tax forms.

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