At a time when public colleges have increased tuition and reduced services, presidents in Georgia and nationwide continued to be well paid, according to a survey from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Compensation packages held steady during the 2009-10 academic year even though state funding to college budgets was cut because of the recession, the report found.
G.P. "Bud" Peterson from Georgia Tech was the highest paid president in the University System of Georgia, according to the Chronicle. He received $644,120, which included base pay, deferred compensation and money toward retirement. University of Georgia President Michael Adams followed at $611,017.
The median total compensation for 185 presidents running the country's largest public research universities was $440,487. About one-third earned more than $500,000 and the 10 highest earned more than $725,000 each. Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee received $1.8 million, the highest.
The report used new methodology and the data can't be compared with previous years.
While presidents earned these salaries, students worked extra jobs to afford tuition, said Hira Mahmood, who attends Georgia State University. Tuition increased by 25 percent during the year of the report.
"We're feeling the budget cuts but it doesn't seem like they are," said Mahmood, a member of the activist group Georgia Students for Public Higher Education. "Frankly we're all very angry and upset. These compensation packages show we run public universities like a business instead of a college."
Rep. Ed Rynders, R-Albany, said the free market should determine salaries, adding some wonder if baseball players should earn millions.
"That being said, I do believe the University System of Georgia needs to be as frugal and efficient as any other agency," said Rynders, who introduced House Resolution 383, which would prohibit the system from increasing tuition and fees at rates that exceed inflation without approval from lawmakers.
University system spokesman John Millsapssaid he understands the concern over salaries but said the issue is one of supply and demand because there is a small pool of people who have the talent to run these colleges. Colleges cited in the study deferred all questions to Millsaps.
"You could find someone to do the job for a lot less money, but the person you would get would not be the person you really want for the job," he said.
College presidents are eligible for the same merit increase as any other university system employee, Millsaps said, adding there were none the year of the report.
The survey's time period covered the minimum of six furlough days the university system required from employees. Mark Becker, president of Georgia State, took 12 that year. His total compensation package was $530,412, according to the report.
President Salaries
The Chronicle for Higher Education surveyed how much presidents of public research colleges earned during the 2009-10 year, including salary, deferred compensation, money toward retirement and provisions such as housing and car allowances. Here are Georgia's presidents:
College ... President ... Compensation package
Georgia Tech ... G.P. "Bud" Peterson ... $644,120
Georgia Southern ... Brooks Keel* ... $216,003
Georgia State ... Mark Becker ... $530,412
University of Georgia ... Michael Adams ... $611,017
Source: The Chronicle for Higher Education, data for 2009-10 academic year.
* Keel started in January, 2010.
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