Admissions At A Top B-School Revealed by: Jeff Schmitt on December 28, 2013 December 28, 2013 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit MBAs Don’t Get Much Love (Or Money) From The Ivory Tower Here’s a question for you: How many of the 50 highest-paid private college Presidents earned an MBA? Based on reading this column’s title, you probably guessed a low number. But just how low? Try three. That’s right: Few MBAs rake in the big bucks as private school Presidents. So who were the three and where did they graduate? Here they are: Drexel University: John Fry (NYU) – #41 Belmont University: Robert Fisher (University of Memphis) – #45 Tulane University: Scott Cowen (George Washington University) – #49 Still, these leaders are being paid handsomely. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Fry earned $1,021,739 in total compensation in 2011, while Fisher and Cowen made $968,435 and $940,000, respectively. However, their salaries are eclipsed by an MBA program drop out. Bloomberg Businessweek notes that Chapman University President Esther Barazzone, who studied at Wharton but apparently didn’t finish her degree, earned $1,812,132 in 2011 total compensation, making her the eighth-highest-paid President. What’s more, George Campbell (President Emeritus at Cooper Union) and John Bowen (Chancellor of Johnson & Wales University) earned an Executive Management Certificate and Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration, respectively. As you’d expect, they make between $200K- $300K more per year than either Fisher or Cowen. In other words, MBAs will probably climb higher and earn more salary and benefits outside of academics. And what is the best academic background for being a private college President? Try lawyers. They hold 11 of the top 50 spots. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, Chronicle of Higher Education Blast from the Past: When Women Were Only 4 Percent Of A Harvard Business School Class You’ve come a long way, baby. And you only need to look at Harvard Business School’s Class of ’71 to see just how far. In the fall of 1969, that class had 27 women among 675 students (and no females among the faculty). In the Mary Tyler Moore era, that passed for diversity. Back then, the women were younger and less experienced than their male counterparts. Forget about glass ceilings and lower pay. These women struggled just to get their foot in the door with recruiters. And the men? Many came to Harvard from insulated all-male undergrad programs. Now, they were competing with savvy women who were vying to be their future bosses, not their future wives. Talk about a culture clash! So how did these trailblazers cope with everything from overcoming stereotypes to finding restrooms? Check out this essay from a HBS grad who experienced it all. Source: Poets and Quants Previous Page Continue ReadingPage 4 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 © Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.