How salary and a ‘war for talent’ in higher ed could impact the UNC chancellor search

The job opening to become the 13th chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill will undoubtedly attract high-profile applicants who are eager to take the helm of the nation’s first public university. But there could be risks that keep some candidates away, or at least make them think twice about applying.

That was part of the message delivered Tuesday to members of the search committee by Laurie Wilder, president of Parker Executive Search, which was awarded the contract to lead the search.

Asked by Board of Trustees vice chair and search committee member Malcolm Turner whether she foresees “any particular challenges” impacting the search, Wilder replied that “there are challenges no matter what you do,” including some that apply to searches across the higher education field, and some that will be unique to UNC.

There is currently a “war for talent” in higher education, Wilder said, channeling the term coined by a McKinsey & Co. partner in 1997. That means universities are making concerted efforts to keep “the best of the best” at their institutions and not lose them to other jobs, she said.

“They are increasing compensation. They’re adding years to contracts. The retention bonuses are huge,” Wilder said.

That means money and salary could play a role in the university’s ability to attract candidates for the chancellor’s job — both because the institution where a candidate is currently employed may seek to retain them by offering them more money, and because UNC may not be able to offer as much money as some candidates want.

Previous chancellor’s salary

When former Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz left UNC in January, his annual base salary was about $684,000. That was up from $620,000 when he entered the role in 2019.

In 2022, Guskiewicz ranked 73rd for total compensation out of 195 public university chancellors and presidents across the country whose pay was included in a database compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The highest paid leader of a single institution, as opposed to an entire university system, listed in the database received more than $2 million in total compensation that year, with a base salary of more than $873,000.

Wilder said compensation in higher education “has been driven at a very, very high level over the last five to six years.” At some universities, she said, lower-level positions, like deans of professional schools, could already be making a higher salary than what Guskiewicz and other previous UNC leaders made as chancellor.

The historical level of compensation for the UNC chancellor, in tandem with the pressures and responsibilities of the job, could make the position more attractive to candidates who already work for the university, Wilder said.

“You all have been in a position where you’ve had a number of leaders that have come [from] within, right?” Wilder said. “So, when you come from within, you tend to take less ... than if you’re coming from outside.”

Wilder cautioned committee members not to “fall in love” with candidates who make it clear they want more money than the university can provide them.

“If you love that person all the way to the end, that person’s probably not taking this because of compensation, right?” she said. “And that runs the risk of ruining your search.”

Guskiewicz is now the president of Michigan State University, where his annual base salary is $975,000. With additional forms of compensation, he makes well over $1 million per year in the role.

UNC interim Chancellor Lee Roberts currently makes about $684,000, the same amount Guskiewicz was making when he left the university. Roberts has not said publicly whether he will apply for the chancellorship permanently.

Other potential challenges for search

Beyond salary and compensation, Wilder said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, candidates may be “a little more risk-averse than they have been in the past.”

That means potential candidates, particularly those who are sitting chancellors or presidents at other universities, will have to seriously weigh “the upside” of even applying to the job at UNC. Though the search will be conducted confidentially — with search committee members signing nondisclosure agreements and not revealing candidates’ identities or the details of committee discussions — Wilder said breaches are still possible, which could negatively impact the candidate’s current job.

“The reality of it is, there’s a risk, right? At any moment a breach of confidentiality can occur,” Wilder said. “And so that’s a challenge as we go forward through this.”

Wilder said candidates are likely to have “lots of questions” about the university, given its high profile and national media attention over the past several years. UNC has seen its share of time in the spotlight, for controversies including its handling of students’ return to campus amid the pandemic, the fallout over whether journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones would be offered tenure to teach at the university and the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the university’s race-conscious admissions policy, among other issues.

Wilder also said she thinks “politics plays a large role in the search as we go forward.”

Cristy Page, executive dean of the UNC School of Medicine and chair of the chancellor search committee, told reporters after the committee’s meeting Tuesday that she doesn’t see any of the challenges Wilder presented as “hurdles that we can’t overcome.”

“I feel very confident that we’re going to have a lot of people interested in this very high-visibility position, and that we’re going to find some great candidates to pass forward to the Board of Trustees,” Page said.

The search could also move faster than originally anticipated, with Wilder saying that she anticipated the search being done prior to the end of the year — the timeline by which UNC System President Peter Hans previously said he would like to name the university’s next leader.

“I think that’s the worst case from a timing perspective,” Wilder said, answering a question from Board of Trustees Chair John Preyer about the timeline of the search.

The committee is holding listening sessions with campus stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, this month.

An online survey is also available for such stakeholders to give input on the qualities they would like to see in the next chancellor. The committee, along with Parker Executive Search, will use the information collected in the survey to craft a leadership profile for the job.

The committee’s next meeting has not been announced, but Page indicated it would take place sometime after the survey closes on May 10.

Updates about the search are available on the university website dedicated to the process: chancellorsearch.unc.edu/meetings.