Tech President Is State's Highest Paid Public College Official

ATLANTA — Georgia Tech President G.P. (Bud) Peterson was the highest-paid public-college official in the 2018 calendar year, according to new figures from The Chronicle of Higher Education. Peterson earned a base salary of $600,413, nontaxable benefits of $11,371 and $537,317 in "other pay," bringing his total compensation up to $1,240,232.

The publication's data with 2018 compensation figures was updated in July and includes information on nearly 250 public university systems from 2010-18. Overall, the 2018 database has compensation information for 269 college officials in the U.S.

Peterson, who has served as Tech president since 2009, is retiring later this summer.

Other Georgia public-college officials who earned salaries exceeding $500,000 include:

• Brooks A. Keel, President of Augusta University ($841,848)
• Jere W. Morehead, President of University of Georgia ($648,699)
• Mark P. Becker, President of Georgia State University ($604,633)
• Steve Wrigley, University System of Georgia Chancellor ($516,648)

College officials who earned under $500,000 but made the top 10 of the state's highest paid are:

• Richard Carvajal, President of Valdosta State University ($395,228)
• William Kenneth Harmon, Interim President of Kennesaw State University ($377,905)
• Kyle L. Marrero, President of University of West Georgia ($360,940)
• Shelley C. Nickel, Interim President of Georgia Southern University ($335,130)
• Jaimie L. Hebert, President of Georgia Southern University ($240,012)

View the full compensation data from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Patch Editor Kathleen Sturgeon contributed to this report.