As Columbia University President Lee Bollinger prepared to leave the college he ran for two decades, the board gave him a parting gift: a $6 million home loan.
The sum, disclosed in Columbia’s most recent publicly filed tax return, is the largest single loan given to an Ivy League administrator in fiscal year 2022, according to a Gothamist review. In February of last year Bollinger bought a three-bedroom apartment in the Beresford building on Central Park West for $11.7 million, property records show. The 10th-floor residence features a grand living room with marble-mantel fireplace, a library and powder room, among other amenities, according to The Real Deal.
Bollinger earned nearly $3.9 million in reportable compensation the year he received the loan, according to the same tax return, making him one of the country’s highest-paid college presidents.
Bollinger stepped down as Columbia’s president in June and did not respond to an inquiry. He’s not the only Ivy League administrator to benefit from the perk in which wealthy universities can serve as exclusive banks.
A Gothamist review of the school’s returns – which are public due to its status as a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution – found the amount of housing-loan debt owed by some of Columbia’s most senior administrators has steadily increased over the last decade. Five current and former administrators, including Bollinger, received a total of $9 million in home loans since fiscal year 2012. Only one administrator, David Madigan, the former executive vice president of arts and sciences, appears to have fully paid off his loan. The rest owe the university $9.3 million.
Many colleges and universities, especially more affluent ones, offer housing loans to administrators and faculty. They are frequently billed as ways to attract and retain talent, especially in more expensive urban areas.
Columbia said the competitive, high-priced New York City real estate market factored into its decision to issue home…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply