University Presidents Don't Necessarily Feel the Pinch
Americans are having more and more trouble with paying for college. Salaries are being cut and people are losing jobs, while student loan lenders are shutting down shop and tuition continues to rise.
To curb increases in tuition, many colleges have implemented hiring freezes or halted expensive construction projects. And yet, interestingly enough, a new study released by the Chronicle of Higher Education found that university presidents' salaries have continued to rise. According to the report, the median pay and benefits for presidents of public universities rose by 7.6 percent in 2007-2008; the rate of public university presidents' salary increases exceeds those at private universities. While the position of university president is extremely important - and large salaries and benefits help attract the brightest and most competent individuals to take on such positions -annual salaries that well exceed $1,000,000 can be seen as rather excessive. The survey found that the highest paid public university president received about $2.4 million, and the highest paid private university president received $1,742,560 in compensation in 2007.
In the wake of the economic crisis, some university presidents have either decline compensation packages or use them to channel funds into their respective universities. It seems that in such a volatile economic landscape, some are willing to defer extravagant pay packages until brighter financial times.
