Greg Jones Made More than $1M in His First Full Year as President

Photo of L. Gregory Jones, courtesy of Belmont's website

Belmont president Greg Jones earned roughly $1,084,000, in the 2022 fiscal year making him the highest-paid employee at Belmont University.

While the current numbers are not available for every school, using Jones’ current salary compared to the most recent numbers, he would be the 78th highest-paid president at a private university in the country, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Belmont Vision analyzed Belmont’s IRS Form 990, which is available here. The form, filed by nonprofit organizations to provide financial transparency, is available to the public and details expenditures, revenue and assets of the university. The Form 990 covers the fiscal year 2022, which began on June 1, 2022, and ended on May 31, 2023. 

Graph showing the highest salaries at Belmont, Melody Scott

Jones’ salary in fiscal year 2022 puts him above the 2021 fiscal year compensation packages of the presidents of Ivy League Princeton University and Butler University.

Butler is considered a school comparable to Belmont, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.  

In addition to his base pay, Jones also received a presidential compensation package, which “provided an internal loan to cover a portion of the purchase price for the Joneses’ Nashville home,” Director of Public Relations April Hefner said in an email to the Vision. 

The $1.6 million low or no-interest loan was used to buy a $2.4 million home. 

The Vision asked six times for an in-person interview with an official at Belmont to explain the numbers and was denied. 

Hefner declined to provide somebody, saying she wanted specific questions and story angles. The Vision does not routinely do this for the purposes of industry standards and objectivity. 

The next two highest-paying employees at Belmont were head basketball coaches, according to Page 7 of the document.

Men’s head basketball coach Casey Alexander made $1,076,503, roughly $8,000 less than Jones, while women’s head basketball coach Bart Brooks made $753,298. 

One coach also received “an annual golf membership,” according to Page 57 of the document. However, the 990 Form doesn’t say which head basketball coach it is or how much it cost. 

Bob Fisher, the former president of Belmont, made $648,137 as president emeritus, a job listed at 10 hours of work a week, according to Page 7 of the document. This averages to roughly $1,246 an hour. 

“As part of his employment contract, Bob Fisher was entitled to a one-year paid sabbatical in light of 21 years of dedicated University service,” Hefner said in the email. “In his role as president emeritus, he serves as an ambassador for the University in a variety of roles to support the community and Belmont, including being available to counsel leadership on strategic direction and provide historical context. He also engages in writing, guest lecturing and teaching from time to time.”

Other items of interest found in the revenue section on Page 9 of the document include:

• $356,848,324 in tuition, fees and instruction.

• $36,911,414 in residence halls and student services.

• $6,384,626 from the bookstore.

• $3,275,624 from study abroad.

• $2,595,954 from athletics.

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This article was written by Matt Sinofsky and Ty Wellemeyer