The presidents of the nation’s major private research universities were paid a median compensation of $627,750 in the 2007-8 fiscal year — a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year — according to The Chronicle of Higher Education annual executive compensation survey.
The fast-growing group of millionaire private college and university presidents hit a new record in recent years, and it's likely more college leaders will make seven-figure salaries once the slumping economy rebounds.
The article discusses fears among U.S. private colleges and universities that the state aid they receive may be among the first programs cut as states tighten their budgets. Fluctuations in state spending on private higher education are discussed, as are the types of aid, including money given directly to colleges and grants and loans to in-state students.
State Rep. John Quinn, D-Dartmouth, filed a House bill Thursday calling for a study of $20.7 million in state money given to private colleges, a response to private law schools' fierce opposition to the University of Massachusetts' plan to take over the Southern New England School of Law and make it the UMass law school.