The veteran dean of the New England Law School, John F. O’Brien, is quite possibly the highest paid law school dean in the United States. O’Brien makes more than $867,000 per year in salary and benefits, according to The Boston Globe.
The salary for O’Brien is over three times the median salary of law school deans across the country. The Globe cited a study conducted by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.
The tuition for the law school has almost doubled over the past eight years, jumping from $22,475 to $40,984 in 2011, which has caused the school to receive major criticism for the dean’s salary.
O’Brien, 62, continues to defend his salary, claiming that he has “the longest continuous service at a single institution of any law school dean in the country.” O’Brien also said that he is responsible for administering New England Law, which is not the same at other law schools where the deans can use university staff for administration help.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s not a lot of money,” he said in an interview. “I think most people would tell you I come to work and I work very hard, day in and day out.”
The school has received criticism about its worth because just 34 percent of its 2011 graduates found jobs that require a law degree just nine months following graduation.