By Matthew Kaufman
Editor-in-Chief
President Michael Bernstein’s base salary has increased by $75,000 to a total of $475,000 for the new academic year, according to his most recent employment contract with the College, but the College will no longer pay for his personal travel expenses.
Under the agreement, Bernstein is also entitled to an annual salary increase (approved by the Board of Trustees), along with an annual bonus. If the Board decides Bernstein “achieved” goals and benchmarks, “exceeded” goals and benchmarks, or had an “extraordinary” performance, Bernstein can earn a bonus of 8%, 11% or 13%, respectively, of his base salary.
The bonus rates are higher than what was offered to former President Kathryn Foster, who stepped down in 2023. According to her final presidential employment contract, she was entitled to bonuses of 5%, 8%, or 10% of her base salary, which was $400,500 for her final year in office.
“Dr. Bernstein's original salary was for his position as interim president,” Luke Sacks, the College’s head of media relations, told The Signal in an email. “The increase in his new contract is based on a combination of merit and market analysis.”
In response to a question on why the bonus rates have increased, Sacks said, “The contract and all the provisions in it are the result of negotiations between the president and the Board.”
The contract states that Bernstein’s term lasts until June 30, 2028, at which point it would be up for renewal.
Foster’s final contract also outlined a Retention Incentive Payment Plan, where for each year she remained as president, $20,000 would be deposited to an escrow account, where it would earn quarterly interest. She would then have been able to withdraw the money after the completion of her contract. Foster, however, stepped down just before the first payment was set to be made.
Sacks said that Bernstein is being offered a similar incentive, though the details are not outlined in his contract and are instead “consistent with a separate pre-existing executive retention program.”
Also included in the contract, which The Signal obtained through a public records request, is a list of benefits entitled to Bernstein as president.
While the College previously paid for two round-trip flights per month to San Diego for Bernstein during his term as interim president, Sacks confirmed that the College is no longer paying for the president’s personal travel. The Signal previously reported that the College paid for at least 11 round-trip flights to and from California during Bernstein’s term as interim president.
Though the College will not pay for personal travel, it will still pay for “travel expenses associated with college benefits,” according to the contract, a standard benefit for college presidents.
The College also provides Bernstein with a car and pays for gasoline, tolls, insurance and other maintenance costs. Bernstein will return the car once his term as president ends.
Bernstein will reside in a house owned by the College during his term as president. The College has allocated up to $20,000 for Bernstein’s moving expenses, along with an additional $20,000 (plus an adjustment for inflation) to be spent in the future when Bernstein moves out of the house.
The contract also details the benefits Bernstein is entitled to once the contract term ends if the Board terminates him “without cause” or if he resigns “for good reason.” Under these criteria, the president would be entitled to a yearlong sabbatical, where he would earn his presidential salary, followed by becoming a professor of history or economics and receiving the salary of a full professor. If he leaves the College within two years of completing the sabbatical, Bernstein would have to pay back the salary he earned during the sabbatical.
If Bernstein chooses not to return as a professor, he could instead “receive a final additional payment in the amount equal to the sum of his last existing base salary,” according to the contract.
If Bernstein is terminated with cause or resigns voluntarily, he would not be entitled to these benefits. But if the Board requests Bernstein’s resignation, the contract stipulates that he is entitled to the benefits and compensation if he was terminated “without cause.”
This is a departure from Foster’s contract, which stated if the Board asked for her resignation, it would be equivalent to a termination with cause, so she would normally not have been entitled to the post-presidency benefits.
Foster being offered these benefits raised questions after her resignation, since under the terms of her contract, she would not have otherwise been able to.
“The Board of Trustees used its discretion to award her the post-agreement benefits to which she would have been entitled had she completed her contractual term,” Sacks told The Signal at the time.
