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President Institute Resources
Presidential Spouse Reward Survey, Fall, 1999
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Salaries are becoming more important to those in the role of presidential
spouse on independent college and university campuses. In 1994, the
CIC Presidential Spouse Survey indicated that 24% of the respondents
believed they should receive a salary for their work as presidential
spouse. In 1999, the percentage rose to 37%.
-
Yet the majority of presidential spouses, sixty three percent, do
not feel they should receive a salary for serving as presidential
spouse. They feel strongly that they prefer to serve as a volunteer
for the institution; they see themselves as part of the presidential
team, although they do not have a salary. And as they are unsalaried,
they enjoy being able to say "no" occasionally when asked
to help the university.
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The percentage of presidential spouses receiving a salary has risen
from 11% in 1994 to 23 % in 1999, although there has been little change
in the proportion of those with job descriptions. Five percent had
a job description in 1994 and 6% in 1999. More presidential spouses
also receive payment for their travel on behalf of the institution;
81% were reimbursed in 1994 compared with 89% today.
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Presidential spouses are less likely today to have their own career
in addition to serving as presidential spouse. Fifty percent have
a full or part-time career while 53% had careers in 1994.
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Spouses who are paid a presidential spouse salary are at institutions
with significantly higher endowments per student than their colleagues
who do not receive a presidential spouse salary. Endowments are slightly
over $50,000 per student when presidential spouses receive a salary,
compared to somewhat over $26,000 per student at institutions where
spouses do not receive a salary.
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Among presidential spouses receiving salaries, their salaries do
not increase with the size of the institution or with the per student
endowment. There is not a significant correlation between reported
presidential spouse salary level and either endowment per student
or total enrollment. There was a trend, although not a statistically
significant one, for those receiving presidential spouse salaries
to come from larger institutions.
-
Spouses who are paid a presidential spouse salary do not differ from
their unpaid colleagues in having a career in addition to their work
as a presidential spouse. They might also work full-time, part-time,
or be self-employed. They are not significantly less likely to be
employed outside the home.
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Spouses who are paid a presidential spouse salary are significantly
more likely than other spouses to have their work acknowledged by
the Board.
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Spouses who are paid a presidential spouse salary are significantly
more likely than other spouses to:
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have a formal job description as presidential spouse (although
most who receive a presidential spouse salary do not have a formal
job description)
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think they should receive a salary for work as presidential spouse
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receive financial rewards in general, including being significantly
more likely to receive the following specific financial rewards:
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Male presidential spouses were more likely than female spouses to
have a career, (t (111) = 2.36, p < .05) and were
less likely to engage in activities,( t (113) = 3.451, p
< .005).
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Spouses who are paid a presidential spouse salary are significantly
more likely than other spouses to engage in institutional activities
in general, but the only specific activity they are significantly
more likely to do is serve on committees.
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Presidential spouses who reported engaging in more activities also
reported more sources of financial reward such as catering help, paid
travel expenses, or secretarial assistance. Catering assistance remains
about the same over the years; 86% of presidential spouses received
such assistance in 1994 and 85% in 1999.
Note: Data from 119 surveys were analyzed. Eighty seven percent of those
responding to the survey were women (100) and 13% were men (15). Frequencies
recorded for each item reflect the number of respondents who answered
that item, as do the percents recorded for each item.
|
item
|
yes
|
yes %
|
no
|
no %
|
| Do you have a formal job
description for your role as presidential spouse at your institution? |
7
|
6%
|
109
|
94%
|
| Are there any other college
documents which interpret the role of the presidential spouse? |
4
|
4%
|
96
|
96%
|
| Do you receive any financial
compensation explicitly for your work as a presidential spouse?* |
27
|
23%
|
90
|
77%
|
| Do you believe you should
receive a salary for your work as presidential spouse? |
42
|
37%
|
72
|
63%
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*mean financial compensation reported: $13,885
median financial compensation reported: $10,000
range of financial compensation reported: $3,000-$54,000
Presidential spouses who feel they should not receive a salary for work
as a presidential spouse gave the following mean ratings (1 = strongly
disagree; 4 = neither agree nor disagree; 7 = strongly agree) to the following
items:
|
item
|
mean
|
| I prefer to serve as a volunteer
for the college or university |
5.7
|
| I feel I already am part
of the presidential team |
5.7
|
| I prefer to be able to say
no occasionally when asked to help the institution |
5.3
|
| Receiving a salary would
increase our taxes |
4.4
|
| Our institution could not
afford to compensate the presidential spouse |
3.9
|
| I cannot devote a sufficient
amount of time to the work of a presidential spouse to justify financial
compensation |
3.8
|
Note: 17 presidential spouses listed a variety of "other" reasons
they thought they should not receive compensation as a presidential spouse.
Ways in which presidential spouses report they are financially rewarded
by their institutions for their work as presidential spouses:
|
form of financial reward
|
yes
|
yes %
|
no
|
no %
|
| Travel expenses paid when
you accompany president on official business |
105
|
89%
|
13
|
11%
|
| Catering help is provided |
100
|
85%
|
18
|
15%
|
| Fees for attending conferences
are paid* |
89
|
75%
|
29
|
25%
|
| Housekeeper is provided** |
79
|
67%
|
39
|
33%
|
| Health insurance is covered |
52
|
44%
|
66
|
56%
|
| Home computer is provided
for you |
29
|
25%
|
89
|
75%
|
| Postage is paid |
29
|
25%
|
89
|
75%
|
| Secretarial assistance is
provided for you*** |
26
|
22%
|
92
|
78%
|
| Contribution to your own
retirement fund |
18
|
15%
|
100
|
85%
|
| Health club membership is
provided**** |
13
|
11%
|
105
|
89%
|
| Home fax is provided for
you |
13
|
11%
|
105
|
89%
|
| Life insurance is provided |
12
|
10%
|
106
|
90%
|
| Annual physical is provided |
11
|
9%
|
107
|
91%
|
| Car phone is provided for
you |
9
|
8%
|
109
|
92%
|
| "Other" |
9
|
8%
|
109
|
92%
|
| Long term disability is
provided |
6
|
5%
|
112
|
95%
|
| Car insurance is provided
for you |
5
|
4%
|
113
|
96%
|
| Short term disability is
provided |
3
|
3%
|
115
|
98%
|
| Office is provided for you
as spouse |
4
|
3%
|
114
|
97%
|
| Car is provided for you |
4
|
3%
|
114
|
97%
|
| Baby sitting budget is provided***** |
3
|
3%
|
114
|
97%
|
| Housing allowance is provided
for spouse who has a career in a city distant from the college |
1
|
1%
|
117
|
99%
|
*Many indicated limits placed on number of conferences
**Many indicated limits on housekeeper hours of as low as two hours
per week
***Many answering "yes" indicated assistance for only a few
hours per week
****Includes a few country club memberships
*****Many indicated such care is not necessary
Non-financial ways in which presidential spouses indicated their institutions
recognized their work:
|
form of non-financial recognition
|
yes
|
yes %
|
no
|
no %
|
| Recognizing the presidential
spouse at institutional functions |
64
|
54%
|
54
|
46%
|
| Acknowledging the work of
the presidential spouse by the Board |
41
|
35%
|
77
|
65%
|
| Giving the presidential
spouse an award |
4
|
3%
|
114
|
97%
|
| Naming something on campus
after the presidential spouse |
1
|
1%
|
117
|
99%
|
| Receiving expressions of
thanks from
board members
staff
campus administrators
faculty
students
"other"
|
74
72
71
66
65
9
|
64%
62%
61%
57%
56%
8%
|
42
44
45
50
51
106
|
36%
38%
39%
43%
44%
92%
|
Kinds of institutional activities in which presidential spouses reported
they are engaged included:
|
institutional activity
|
yes
|
yes %
|
no
|
no %
|
| Attending college events |
118
|
100%
|
|
|
| Entertaining at the presidential
home |
114
|
97%
|
4
|
3%
|
| Hosting events on campus |
105
|
89%
|
13
|
11%
|
| Accompanying the president
to visit alumni and other key constituents |
105
|
89%
|
13
|
11%
|
| Visiting donors to raise
funds |
88
|
75%
|
30
|
25%
|
| Planning college or university
events |
85
|
72%
|
33
|
28%
|
| Serving on community boards |
81
|
69%
|
37
|
31%
|
| Hosting campus visitors
overnight in the presidential home |
63
|
53%
|
55
|
47%
|
| Serving on campus committees |
58
|
49%
|
60
|
51%
|
| Overseeing special projects |
49
|
42%
|
69
|
59%
|
| Giving speeches on or off
campus |
45
|
38%
|
73
|
62%
|
| "Other" |
26
|
22%
|
92
|
78%
|
| Serving as a liaison to
parents |
24
|
20%
|
94
|
80%
|
|
item
|
yes
|
yes %
|
no
|
no %
|
| Do you have your own career
in addition to serving as presidential spouse?
(part-time position
full-time position)
|
58*
(34
22
|
50%
61%
39%)
|
58
|
50%
|
| Are you self-employed? |
16
|
14%
|
101
|
86%
|
* Two who answered "yes" did not indicate full- or part-time
employment.
CIC appreciates the help of John Hull, Professor of Psychology at Bethany
College (WV) who ran the statistical tests on the survey data as well
as the work of the Spouses Task Force in developing the questionnaire.
Task Force members are: Judy Shields, Rockford College, chair; Jan Carlberg,
Gordon College; Stuart Showalter, Goshen College; Gemma Beckley, Rust
College; Jeanette Cureton, Elmhurst College; and Emma Sloan, Miles College.
Mary Ann Rehnke
Vice President for Annual Programs
Council of Independent Colleges
mrehnke@cic.nche.edu
December 1999
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