In 2018, 4,112 U of T employees earned salaries of more than $100,000, with Daren Smith, President and Chief Investment Officer of the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (UTAM), receiving $989,308. These figures were released on March 27 in the annual Sunshine List, a catalogue of public sector employees who make more than $100,000 per year in Ontario.
Employee representation from U of T and its federated colleges — the University of St. Michael’s College (USMC), Victoria University, and the University of Trinity College — has grown from 3,811 in 2017 and 3,626 in 2016. USMC and Trinity each have 20 employees on the 2018 list; Victoria has 35.
Smith is the second-highest paid public-sector employee in Ontario for the second year in a row. Brian Golden, cross-appointed at U of T and the University Health Network, is second on U of T’s list, with a salary of $493,120.09. U of T President Meric Gertler comes in third among U of T employees, earning $489,384.04 — an increase of more than $50,000 from his salary last year. Gertler tops other UTAM executives who had previously dominated the top of the list. Vice-President & Provost Cheryl Regehr, who is 55th among U of T employees, earned $357,999.96 in 2018.
Over half of U of T employees on the list earn between $100,000 and $150,000. Smith is the only person to earn above $500,000 at U of T, with 24 people earning between $400,000 and $500,000. The average income of the 4,112 U of T employees was $159,767.40, which is up by about $200 from 2017, with the 2018 median income at $145,410.07.
Collectively, U of T’s Sunshine List earners accrued $656,963,528.24 in income in 2018.
Compared to the 2015 median Ontario household income of $74,287, in 2018, Smith earned 13 times more, Gertler earned six and a half times more, and the median U of T Sunshine List member earned double.
