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.
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. Columbia said the competitive, high-priced New York City real estate market factored into its decision to issue home loans to the handful of administrators. But critics of the practice say it shields elite universities like Columbia from revealing how much top officials are actually compensated. The debt on the loans emerges as Columbia faces internal complaints over inadequate pay from faculty and staff.
Gutmann's loan, which was disclosed in fiscal year 2021, appeared to be the largest to an Ivy League administrator that year, according to a review by theGutmann revealed in disclosure forms for her appointment as U.S. ambassador to Germany in the Biden administration that the loan has an interest rate of .
Columbia professors as well as professors who closely track finances in higher education criticized the loans. Coatsworth owes Columbia more than the principal on both loans. According to Columbia’s most recent filing, Coatsworth owes the university $2.129 million for the first loan and $607,974 for the second. He did not respond to an inquiry. Public records show Coatsworth also has an apartment on Central Park West.