Carolyn Cowper

Carolyn Cowper

Carolyn Cowper

Vice President, Performance and Rewards, New York

Carolyn is a Vice President at Segal with over 17 years of experience in human capital consulting, with a focus on compensation and performance management assessment and design in higher education. She provides innovative solutions for attracting and retaining key talent as well as aligning the organizational structure and employees to the institutional strategy. She leads many of the firm’s compensation-related initiatives across a variety of industries. Her responsibilities include:

  • Leading in the assessment, design and implementation of broad-based, faculty and executive employee engagement, compensation, incentive and performance management programs
  • Serving as the Higher Education Vertical Leader for the Compensation and Career Strategies Practice
  • Training junior staff in benchmarking, job analysis, structure design and project management

Carolyn has experience working with both public and private higher education institutions of varying sizes, from large research, doctoral institutions to small to mid-size liberal arts colleges.

Examples of typical client engagements for colleges and universities include:

  • A top tier university needed assistance in the design, implementation and communication of a comprehensive job classification and salary administration system to support the University's compensation goals. Carolyn led the design and assessment to identify key areas of concern and evaluate the magnitude of market and compression problems.
  • The Provost of a Northeast institution wanted to assess the competitiveness of the faculty’s compensation and benefits package. Carolyn led the market assessment, design and implementation of the faculty compensation program to ensure alignment with the College’s mission, values, compensation philosophy and culture.
  • The Compensation Committee of a private institution was concerned that the pay levels for their executives were excessive. Carolyn led the overall compensation assessment, including the development of a compensation strategy and peer group of institutions, and a review of the compensation to determine reasonableness of pay under Intermediate Sanctions Guidelines. She also assisted the Committee with recommendations on how the institution could improve the administration of its executive compensation program going forward.

Carolyn was also a Human Capital Consultant at Mercer. Her work included developing total compensation strategies, conducting current state and external competitive assessments of various employee groups for select Fortune 500 companies and contributing to the design of annual and long-term incentive programs.

Carolyn earned a BA degree in Economics and Sociology from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She has received the firm’s prestigious Quality Star Award.

Carolyn is a frequent writer and speaker on the topics of human capital, compensation, and performance management at industry events and conferences. Carolyn's recent speeches include:

  • “Compensation & Performance Management — Today & in the Future,” Ivy Plus Conference, October 2020
  • “Overview of Higher Education Compensation and Benefit Trends,” Boston Consortium, March 2020
  • “Salary Budget Planning for 2020 How to Effectively Forecast Pay Amidst Rising Compensation Costs, the DOL’s Final Overtime Exemption Rule, and Other Factors,” BLR Webinar, December 2019
  • “Walking on Eggshells – Effective Management of Internal Pay Equity,” ASHHRA 2018 Annual Conference
  • “Pay for Performance: Retaining & Engaging,” CBIA 2016 Compensation & Benefits Conference, June 2016
  • “Proposed FLSA Regulations: How Your Institution Can Prepare Now,” various CUPA-HR regional conferences, fall 2015 – early summer 2016

Carolyn's recent articles include:

  • “Shaping Compensation to Fit Your Organization,” Workspan, December 2016
  • “How to Custom Fit Your New Pay Structure,” Workspan, February 2013

Contact Carolyn

The information you provide will not be shared with anyone outside Segal.

Carolyn Cowper

Carolyn Cowper

Carolyn Cowper

Vice President, Performance and Rewards, New York

Carolyn is a Vice President at Segal with over 17 years of experience in human capital consulting, with a focus on compensation and performance management assessment and design in higher education. She provides innovative solutions for attracting and retaining key talent as well as aligning the organizational structure and employees to the institutional strategy. She leads many of the firm’s compensation-related initiatives across a variety of industries. Her responsibilities include:

  • Leading in the assessment, design and implementation of broad-based, faculty and executive employee engagement, compensation, incentive and performance management programs
  • Serving as the Higher Education Vertical Leader for the Compensation and Career Strategies Practice
  • Training junior staff in benchmarking, job analysis, structure design and project management

Carolyn has experience working with both public and private higher education institutions of varying sizes, from large research, doctoral institutions to small to mid-size liberal arts colleges.

Examples of typical client engagements for colleges and universities include:

  • A top tier university needed assistance in the design, implementation and communication of a comprehensive job classification and salary administration system to support the University's compensation goals. Carolyn led the design and assessment to identify key areas of concern and evaluate the magnitude of market and compression problems.
  • The Provost of a Northeast institution wanted to assess the competitiveness of the faculty’s compensation and benefits package. Carolyn led the market assessment, design and implementation of the faculty compensation program to ensure alignment with the College’s mission, values, compensation philosophy and culture.
  • The Compensation Committee of a private institution was concerned that the pay levels for their executives were excessive. Carolyn led the overall compensation assessment, including the development of a compensation strategy and peer group of institutions, and a review of the compensation to determine reasonableness of pay under Intermediate Sanctions Guidelines. She also assisted the Committee with recommendations on how the institution could improve the administration of its executive compensation program going forward.

Carolyn was also a Human Capital Consultant at Mercer. Her work included developing total compensation strategies, conducting current state and external competitive assessments of various employee groups for select Fortune 500 companies and contributing to the design of annual and long-term incentive programs.

Carolyn earned a BA degree in Economics and Sociology from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She has received the firm’s prestigious Quality Star Award.

Carolyn is a frequent writer and speaker on the topics of human capital, compensation, and performance management at industry events and conferences. Carolyn's recent speeches include:

  • “Compensation & Performance Management — Today & in the Future,” Ivy Plus Conference, October 2020
  • “Overview of Higher Education Compensation and Benefit Trends,” Boston Consortium, March 2020
  • “Salary Budget Planning for 2020 How to Effectively Forecast Pay Amidst Rising Compensation Costs, the DOL’s Final Overtime Exemption Rule, and Other Factors,” BLR Webinar, December 2019
  • “Walking on Eggshells – Effective Management of Internal Pay Equity,” ASHHRA 2018 Annual Conference
  • “Pay for Performance: Retaining & Engaging,” CBIA 2016 Compensation & Benefits Conference, June 2016
  • “Proposed FLSA Regulations: How Your Institution Can Prepare Now,” various CUPA-HR regional conferences, fall 2015 – early summer 2016

Carolyn's recent articles include:

  • “Shaping Compensation to Fit Your Organization,” Workspan, December 2016
  • “How to Custom Fit Your New Pay Structure,” Workspan, February 2013

Contact Carolyn

The information you provide will not be shared with anyone outside Segal.

Carolyn Cowper

Vice President, Performance and Rewards, New York

Carolyn Cowper

Contact Carolyn

The information you provide will not be shared with anyone outside Segal.

Carolyn is a Vice President at Segal with over 17 years of experience in human capital consulting, with a focus on compensation and performance management assessment and design in higher education. She provides innovative solutions for attracting and retaining key talent as well as aligning the organizational structure and employees to the institutional strategy. She leads many of the firm’s compensation-related initiatives across a variety of industries. Her responsibilities include:

  • Leading in the assessment, design and implementation of broad-based, faculty and executive employee engagement, compensation, incentive and performance management programs
  • Serving as the Higher Education Vertical Leader for the Compensation and Career Strategies Practice
  • Training junior staff in benchmarking, job analysis, structure design and project management

Carolyn has experience working with both public and private higher education institutions of varying sizes, from large research, doctoral institutions to small to mid-size liberal arts colleges.

Examples of typical client engagements for colleges and universities include:

  • A top tier university needed assistance in the design, implementation and communication of a comprehensive job classification and salary administration system to support the University's compensation goals. Carolyn led the design and assessment to identify key areas of concern and evaluate the magnitude of market and compression problems.
  • The Provost of a Northeast institution wanted to assess the competitiveness of the faculty’s compensation and benefits package. Carolyn led the market assessment, design and implementation of the faculty compensation program to ensure alignment with the College’s mission, values, compensation philosophy and culture.
  • The Compensation Committee of a private institution was concerned that the pay levels for their executives were excessive. Carolyn led the overall compensation assessment, including the development of a compensation strategy and peer group of institutions, and a review of the compensation to determine reasonableness of pay under Intermediate Sanctions Guidelines. She also assisted the Committee with recommendations on how the institution could improve the administration of its executive compensation program going forward.

Carolyn was also a Human Capital Consultant at Mercer. Her work included developing total compensation strategies, conducting current state and external competitive assessments of various employee groups for select Fortune 500 companies and contributing to the design of annual and long-term incentive programs.

Carolyn earned a BA degree in Economics and Sociology from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She has received the firm’s prestigious Quality Star Award.

Carolyn is a frequent writer and speaker on the topics of human capital, compensation, and performance management at industry events and conferences. Carolyn's recent speeches include:

  • “Compensation & Performance Management — Today & in the Future,” Ivy Plus Conference, October 2020
  • “Overview of Higher Education Compensation and Benefit Trends,” Boston Consortium, March 2020
  • “Salary Budget Planning for 2020 How to Effectively Forecast Pay Amidst Rising Compensation Costs, the DOL’s Final Overtime Exemption Rule, and Other Factors,” BLR Webinar, December 2019
  • “Walking on Eggshells – Effective Management of Internal Pay Equity,” ASHHRA 2018 Annual Conference
  • “Pay for Performance: Retaining & Engaging,” CBIA 2016 Compensation & Benefits Conference, June 2016
  • “Proposed FLSA Regulations: How Your Institution Can Prepare Now,” various CUPA-HR regional conferences, fall 2015 – early summer 2016

Carolyn's recent articles include:

  • “Shaping Compensation to Fit Your Organization,” Workspan, December 2016
  • “How to Custom Fit Your New Pay Structure,” Workspan, February 2013

Carolyn Cowper

Vice President, Performance and Rewards, New York

Carolyn Cowper

Contact Carolyn

The information you provide will not be shared with anyone outside Segal.

Carolyn is a Vice President at Segal with over 17 years of experience in human capital consulting, with a focus on compensation and performance management assessment and design in higher education. She provides innovative solutions for attracting and retaining key talent as well as aligning the organizational structure and employees to the institutional strategy. She leads many of the firm’s compensation-related initiatives across a variety of industries. Her responsibilities include:

  • Leading in the assessment, design and implementation of broad-based, faculty and executive employee engagement, compensation, incentive and performance management programs
  • Serving as the Higher Education Vertical Leader for the Compensation and Career Strategies Practice
  • Training junior staff in benchmarking, job analysis, structure design and project management

Carolyn has experience working with both public and private higher education institutions of varying sizes, from large research, doctoral institutions to small to mid-size liberal arts colleges.

Examples of typical client engagements for colleges and universities include:

  • A top tier university needed assistance in the design, implementation and communication of a comprehensive job classification and salary administration system to support the University's compensation goals. Carolyn led the design and assessment to identify key areas of concern and evaluate the magnitude of market and compression problems.
  • The Provost of a Northeast institution wanted to assess the competitiveness of the faculty’s compensation and benefits package. Carolyn led the market assessment, design and implementation of the faculty compensation program to ensure alignment with the College’s mission, values, compensation philosophy and culture.
  • The Compensation Committee of a private institution was concerned that the pay levels for their executives were excessive. Carolyn led the overall compensation assessment, including the development of a compensation strategy and peer group of institutions, and a review of the compensation to determine reasonableness of pay under Intermediate Sanctions Guidelines. She also assisted the Committee with recommendations on how the institution could improve the administration of its executive compensation program going forward.

Carolyn was also a Human Capital Consultant at Mercer. Her work included developing total compensation strategies, conducting current state and external competitive assessments of various employee groups for select Fortune 500 companies and contributing to the design of annual and long-term incentive programs.

Carolyn earned a BA degree in Economics and Sociology from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She has received the firm’s prestigious Quality Star Award.

Carolyn is a frequent writer and speaker on the topics of human capital, compensation, and performance management at industry events and conferences. Carolyn's recent speeches include:

  • “Compensation & Performance Management — Today & in the Future,” Ivy Plus Conference, October 2020
  • “Overview of Higher Education Compensation and Benefit Trends,” Boston Consortium, March 2020
  • “Salary Budget Planning for 2020 How to Effectively Forecast Pay Amidst Rising Compensation Costs, the DOL’s Final Overtime Exemption Rule, and Other Factors,” BLR Webinar, December 2019
  • “Walking on Eggshells – Effective Management of Internal Pay Equity,” ASHHRA 2018 Annual Conference
  • “Pay for Performance: Retaining & Engaging,” CBIA 2016 Compensation & Benefits Conference, June 2016
  • “Proposed FLSA Regulations: How Your Institution Can Prepare Now,” various CUPA-HR regional conferences, fall 2015 – early summer 2016

Carolyn's recent articles include:

  • “Shaping Compensation to Fit Your Organization,” Workspan, December 2016
  • “How to Custom Fit Your New Pay Structure,” Workspan, February 2013

Carolyn Cowper

Carolyn Cowper

Vice President, Performance and Rewards, New York

Contact Carolyn

The information you provide will not be shared with anyone outside Segal.

Carolyn is a Vice President at Segal with over 17 years of experience in human capital consulting, with a focus on compensation and performance management assessment and design in higher education. She provides innovative solutions for attracting and retaining key talent as well as aligning the organizational structure and employees to the institutional strategy. She leads many of the firm’s compensation-related initiatives across a variety of industries. Her responsibilities include:

  • Leading in the assessment, design and implementation of broad-based, faculty and executive employee engagement, compensation, incentive and performance management programs
  • Serving as the Higher Education Vertical Leader for the Compensation and Career Strategies Practice
  • Training junior staff in benchmarking, job analysis, structure design and project management

Carolyn has experience working with both public and private higher education institutions of varying sizes, from large research, doctoral institutions to small to mid-size liberal arts colleges.

Examples of typical client engagements for colleges and universities include:

  • A top tier university needed assistance in the design, implementation and communication of a comprehensive job classification and salary administration system to support the University's compensation goals. Carolyn led the design and assessment to identify key areas of concern and evaluate the magnitude of market and compression problems.
  • The Provost of a Northeast institution wanted to assess the competitiveness of the faculty’s compensation and benefits package. Carolyn led the market assessment, design and implementation of the faculty compensation program to ensure alignment with the College’s mission, values, compensation philosophy and culture.
  • The Compensation Committee of a private institution was concerned that the pay levels for their executives were excessive. Carolyn led the overall compensation assessment, including the development of a compensation strategy and peer group of institutions, and a review of the compensation to determine reasonableness of pay under Intermediate Sanctions Guidelines. She also assisted the Committee with recommendations on how the institution could improve the administration of its executive compensation program going forward.

Carolyn was also a Human Capital Consultant at Mercer. Her work included developing total compensation strategies, conducting current state and external competitive assessments of various employee groups for select Fortune 500 companies and contributing to the design of annual and long-term incentive programs.

Carolyn earned a BA degree in Economics and Sociology from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She has received the firm’s prestigious Quality Star Award.

Carolyn is a frequent writer and speaker on the topics of human capital, compensation, and performance management at industry events and conferences. Carolyn's recent speeches include:

  • “Compensation & Performance Management — Today & in the Future,” Ivy Plus Conference, October 2020
  • “Overview of Higher Education Compensation and Benefit Trends,” Boston Consortium, March 2020
  • “Salary Budget Planning for 2020 How to Effectively Forecast Pay Amidst Rising Compensation Costs, the DOL’s Final Overtime Exemption Rule, and Other Factors,” BLR Webinar, December 2019
  • “Walking on Eggshells – Effective Management of Internal Pay Equity,” ASHHRA 2018 Annual Conference
  • “Pay for Performance: Retaining & Engaging,” CBIA 2016 Compensation & Benefits Conference, June 2016
  • “Proposed FLSA Regulations: How Your Institution Can Prepare Now,” various CUPA-HR regional conferences, fall 2015 – early summer 2016

Carolyn's recent articles include:

  • “Shaping Compensation to Fit Your Organization,” Workspan, December 2016
  • “How to Custom Fit Your New Pay Structure,” Workspan, February 2013