How to Profit Off Shareholders 101…
Funny, but we didn’t see that course listed in the online catalog at DeVry University (DV). Yet Ronald Taylor, the CEO of the ubiquitous technology school, sure seems to have mastered the art. In the proxy DeVry filed late yesterday, the Company disclosed that Taylor’s bonus jumped from $180,000 in 2005 to just over $810,000 for 2006. Also spotted in the footnotes to the summary compensation table were the $31,500 in director fees paid to Taylor for sitting in on presumably one board meeting during the year. This is in direct contrast to the policy most companies have of only compensating non-management board members.
Moving down the proxy, buried in what is normally boilerplate information under the "Employment Contracts" section, were the details on Taylor’s retirement deal, which is effective on November 15. Taylor will become a "Senior Advisor" under a fifteen-year agreement that is divided into an initial five-year period and a final ten-year period. Taylor will be provided with an office and an annual salary of $420,000 during the initial period and, during the final period, an annual salary of $50,000. If that weren’t enough, DeVry also agreed to pay Taylor $140,000 in additional salary for making himself "available for up to 40 hours to provide any advice, counsel and assistance the Board of Directors may request to facilitate the transition of CEO responsibilities" during the four months after Taylor’s retirement date. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the proxy intended to read "up to 40 hours per week" or just "up to 40 hours" in total!
Seems as though Taylor is making a pretty tidy profit off a company whose stock has consistently underperformed its peer group and the NYSE Market Index for the last five years. Maybe DeVry should offer classes on how to increase shareholder value. We know a few people who could really benefit from that class.
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October 11th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Thanks. Been watching these since meltdown of
online colleges (see COCO story below).
Still this is amazing info into what a racket some of this DeVry type stuff can be. Promise kids the moon and yet the owners keep the cheese. Kids can’t get a decent job or just one with some outfit that has a connection with the ’school’.
Maybe accounting should be a major at DeVry
seems quite a need for it.
Corinthian Colleges Receives Nasdaq Staff Determination Letter
Last Update: 10/5/2006 7:45:00 AM
SANTA ANA, Calif., Oct 05, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (COCO) has received a Nasdaq Staff Determination letter stating that the Company’s common stock is subject to delisting from The Nasdaq Global Select Market for failure to file a fiscal 2006 Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the required deadline. Timely filing of annual and periodic reports with the SEC is required for continued listing under Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14). The Company had previously filed a Form 12b-25 with the SEC indicating that the Company would be unable to file its Form 10-K by the original filing deadline of September 13, 2006 due to the Company’s ongoing review of its historic stock option grants.
The Company appealed the Staff Determination and has requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel (Panel). Filing a request for appeal will stay the suspension of trading in the Company’s securities pending a decision by the Panel, and the Company’s stock will remain listed during this time period. However, there can be no assurance the Panel will grant the Company’s request for continued listing.
The Company will file its Form 10-K as soon as practicable.
About Corinthian Colleges, Inc.
Corinthian Colleges, Inc. is one of the largest post-secondary education companies in North America, operating 95 schools in 26 states in the U.S. and 34 schools in the seven provinces of Canada. The Company’s mission is to prepare students for careers in demand or for advancement in their chosen career. Corinthian offers diploma programs and associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in a variety of fields, including healthcare, transportation technology, criminal justice, business, information technology and trades.