Britain's highest paid academic has broken through the Pounds 250,000 barrier, The THES can reveal.
John Quelch, dean of the London Business School, earned Pounds 252,000 from public funds in the year ending July 31 1999.
Professor Quelch said: "In the United States, salaries in business and other professional postgraduate schools are higher than in the arts and sciences. The same is true at all levels from assistant professors to deans.
"Salaries at the London Business School tend to be higher than at other British business schools, reflecting the school's Financial Times ranking (published this week) as the number one business school in Europe and number eight in the world."
Vice-chancellors received an average pay rise of 4.9 per cent. The increase is bigger than the previous year's and considerably greater than the 3.5 per cent pay rise their academic staff received last year. Some 118 vice-chancellors got rises of more than 3.5 per cent. Just 49 received less, 17 of whom had recently changed job.
"Vice-chancellors obviously recognise how important pay is for motivation. We look forward to the vice-chancellors responding to our latest pay claim, so they can show the same applies to the rest of staff as it does to themselves," said Malcolm Keight, assistant general secretary of the Association of University Teachers.
Tom Wilson, head of the universities section of lecturers' union Natfhe, said: "Being a vice-chancellor is a big responsibility and deserves fair pay but it seems that some salaries are grotesquely out of line. Some heads of department run sections that are as big as a small institution but this is not reflected in their pay. Let us hope this largess begins to find its way down to the lower ranks."
Sir Stewart Sutherland's 12.9 per cent pay rise took him to the second best paid position. Sir Stewart earned Pounds 149,000 as vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh. A spokesperson said that he had not had an increase the previous year. His salary was less than 60 per cent of Professor Quelch's earnings.
Robert Boyd of St George's Hospital Medical School was in third place with Pounds 148,280.
As well as gaining the top salary, Professor Quelch scored the biggest pay rise. He earned 21.7 per cent more than his predecessors, George Bain and Michael Earl, with whom he shared the position between August 1997 and July 1998. The London Business School made a surplus of Pounds 18.5 million in 1998-99.
David VandeLinde, vice-chancellor of the University of Bath, took a 2.7 per cent pay cut and as a result slid from second to sixth best-paid. He swapped pay for more annual leave.
In 1998-99, Professor VandeLinde oversaw a transformation in his university's finances, turning a Pounds 890,000 loss in 1997-98 into a Pounds 1.7 million surplus in 1998-99.
Leeds Metropolitan University's Leslie Wagner retained his position as the best-paid head of a new university. His modest 1.4 per cent increase took his salary to Pounds 141,000. No one else at Leeds Met earned more than Pounds 90,000.
Annual accounts also reveal how universities paid off senior staff who lost their jobs.
Some Pounds 91,500 compensation for loss of office went to Mike Fitzgerald, former vice-chancellor of Thames Valley University. The cash equalled about a year's salary.
Sir William Taylor's package for rescuing Thames Valley included a car, chauffeur and fuel which amounted to Pounds 12,418 in addition to the Pounds 78,000 he earned as vice-chancellor between November 16 1998 and July 31 1999.
Tony Wood, former vice-chancellor of the University of Luton, received a Pounds 75,000 retirement package last year for loss of office. He was also paid Pounds 50,000 over six months to the end of February 1999 for consultancy services.
Women earn less, page 10 Top earners, page 11
FROM LORD TO LECTURER:PUTTING PAY IN PERSPECTIVE
Head of Glaxo Wellcome, Sir Richard Sykes Pounds 3.6 m
Captain of Manchester United, Roy Keane Pounds 2.6 m
Head of English funding council, Sir Brian Fender Pounds 133,000NoNo
High Court judge Pounds 117,752
Average vice-chancellor Pounds 104,000
Education secretary, David Blunkett Pounds 94,157*
Archbishop of Canterbury Pounds 51,020
Equity partner in typical legal firm Pounds 41,580
Typical secondary school head Pounds 39,000
Lecturer in post-1992 university Pounds 20,810
Lecturer in pre-1992 university Pounds 19,371
All figures for 1998-99 unless otherwise indicated. * 1999 figures. NoNo Includes employer's pension contribution. Excludes free accommodation.
Sources: Glaxo Wellcome, The Sun, Lord Chancellor's Department, Funding council, Cabinet Office, General Synod, Law Society, National Union of Teachers, Bett report.