Dec 23, 2015 01:12 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

New York University is no stranger to criticism for paying star administrators and professors more than handsomely while consistently ranking as one of the nation's most expensive schools.

NYU has done nothing to stop those criticisms from rolling in with renovations of a luxury penthouse in Greenwich Village for its incoming president, Andrew Hamilton. The school is readying a 4,200-square foot duplex NYU officials described as "swanky" even before the renovations to the tune of $1.1 million, according to The New York Times.

The $1.1 million figure for the renovations is the baseline, as the newspaper noted the cost could double when it is all said and done. Among the planned upgrades at the Washington Square West penthouse is the transformation of the 19th floor into a master bedroom suite with private exits to an outer terrace.

NYU's gifts and benefits to high-ranking officials and professors is well documented, but The New York Post reported last year those perks are sometimes given to people with little or no affiliation with the school. For example, NYU offered a luxury apartment in Chelsea at a discounted rate to Henry Louis Gates Jr. when he visits as a guest lecturer. While NYU has tried to lure Gates from Harvard, the school has never been employed him.

John Sexton, who is on his way out as NYU's president, also allowed his son to rent a duplex typically reserved for a faculty member at a discounted rate. The younger Sexton, an actor with no affiliation to NYU, rented the apartment for "years," The Post reported.

Business Insider ranked NYU the third most expensive school in the U.S. in terms of total cost, an approximate $65,860 for tuition and housing. At that cost, four students who graduate in four years and pay full price could raise $1 million toward Hamilton's residence.

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