AKRON Ohio
Incoming Ohio State University president Gordon Gee will take a pay cut when he leaves Vanderbilt University to assume the helm of the nation's largest university, but his $775,000 salary easily will make him the highest paid college president in the state.

Gee, who made $1.1 million as chancellor at Vanderbilt, also will get $225,000 a year in deferred compensation from Ohio State bringing his total salary to $1 million.

The next best-paid public college president, Cincinnati's Nancy Zimpher, gets $600,000 a year. Former Case Western Reserve University President Edward Hundert made $603,000 at the private school in 2004-2005, the last year for which the school's numbers are available.

Rising economic tides are encouraging higher university president salaries across the nation, said Claire Van Ummersen, vice president of the Center for Effective Leadership at the American Council on Education.

Van Ummersen, a former president at Cleveland State University, said few people can juggle the complexities of the job, leading to a rising demand for talented candidates.

"There are only a small number of individuals who are prepared to undertake some of these very large institutions and lead them forward," she said.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last year that the number of public college presidents receiving $500,000 salaries or more doubled over the previous year.

Last year, David Roselle made about $980,000 as president at the University of Delaware; Mary Sue Coleman, $742,000 at the University of Michigan; and Mark Emmert, $752,700 at the University of Washington.

Gee's $1.1 million salary at Vanderbilt made him the highest-paid college president in the nation, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Ohio State trustee Chairman Gil Cloyd said school officials knew that to lure Gee away they would have to present a nearly comparable compensation package.

"We knew if we were going to get the top person, it could very well take $800,000 to $1 million," Cloyd said. "We believe we've made a wonderful strategic investment for Ohio."

Information from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.com

- Associated Press

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