Brown University’s Endowment Chief Got $1.3 Million in 2018

(Bloomberg) -- Brown University gave the chief executive officer of its investment office almost $1.3 million in compensation in 2018, making him the second-highest paid official at the Ivy League school.

Joseph Dowling received base pay of $614,568 and bonus and incentive pay of $561,718, according to a federal tax filing. The package includes other items such as deferred compensation. The total was slightly higher than the year before and covers part of the period in which the school’s endowment returned 13.2%, second to Princeton University in the group of eight elite schools.

Investment officials are often among the highest paid at top-ranked universities and their compensation has been scrutinized as the cost of a college education has soared. The price for the 2019-2020 academic year at the Providence, Rhode Island-based school is $77,500 for undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board and other costs such as books.

Many of Brown’s peers haven’t disclosed their compensation yet because they’ve opted to delay filing their taxes until July after the federal government extended the deadline because of the coronavirus pandemic. Brown’s pay is typically among the lowest in the Ivy League.

Dowling was hired in 2013 to oversee Brown’s endowment, which at $4.2 billion as of June 2019 is the smallest in the Ivy League. Two years ago, he was promoted from chief investment officer after the university created the new position at the office.

Jane Dietze, who succeeded Dowling as CIO, received compensation of $1.2 million in 2018, the filing shows. The highest-paid officer at Brown was President Christina Paxson at almost $1.4 million, including retirement and deferred pay.

The 13.2% return covers the fiscal year ending June 2018. For the year ending June 2019, the most recent public data available, Brown led the Ivy League in performance with a 12.4% gain.

A university spokesman didn’t immediately return a call for comment.

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