Elite colleges and universities find that landing a chief executive costs more than ever in pay and benefits, with no ceiling in sight. The Chronicle's compensation survey includes, for the first time, compensation of the presidents of the largest community colleges, like Miami Dade College (above). (Photograph from Miami Dade College)

• DATABASE: Compensation of presidents at public institutions.
• DATABASE: Compensation of presidents at private institutions.
• KEY QUALIFICATIONS: Four presidential attributes most likely to influence boards to ante up.

The duties of many community-college presidents are as demanding as those of their counterparts at four-year colleges, but their pay lags behind.

For several reasons, many presidents lack written employment contracts.

• 2 EXAMPLES: What good contracts looks like.

Bonuses, mostly for performance and retention, are common among college presidents' pay packages. But the standards for when such bonuses are handed out are not always clear.

Five presidents talk about where their money goes.

Stephen J. Trachtenberg, retired president of George Washington University, explains why presidents are paid so much more than professors.

A PAY CUT TO DIE FOR: E. Gordon Gee jumps from private Vanderbilt to public Ohio State.

MORE DETAIL, PLEASE: A tax expert explains what's in store for the IRS Form 990, and for the people who have to fill it out.

THE BETTER HALF: Some presidential spouses are already busy with their own careers.

A Chronicle survey has found that increases in higher-education compensation are spreading from private to public institutions, with a 53-percent jump in the number of college leaders whose pay and benefits have reached at least $500,000.
University chief executives often get residences as part of their compensation packages. The President's Mansion at the U. of Alabama at Tuscaloosa has been in use since the 1840s. (Photograph by Franz-Marc Frei, Corbis)

• DATABASE: Compensation of presidents at 183 public institutions, 670 private colleges, 114 specialized institutions, and 33 major higher-education associations.

As established institutional leaders command higher salaries, they risk becoming hired guns.

Presidential salaries and spending compensation are showing up on front pages.

A well-thought-out contract can protect both a president and the trustees who do the hiring.

The University of California's leader responds to news-media scrutiny of administrators' pay.

In Iowa, a state board considers how to stop losing college presidents to higher-paying rivals.

RESIDENCES AND RIDES: Where college presidents live and what they drive.

PUTTING OFF PAYDAY: Deferred compensation becomes a more accepted part of presidential pay packages.

MANY HATS: The college presidency has changed, and governing boards must adapt, says the head of a panel that has studied the issue.

The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Senate have turned their attention to college pay and perquisites.
Benjamin Ladner lost his job as president of American U. after details of his spending on entertainment and travel became public (Photograph by Dennis Brack, Black Star)

The pay of presidents of public colleges is rising, but they often feel underpaid.

College presidents who serve on corporate boards can earn money and prestige, but critics worry leaders will get overcommitted.

The board of the Pennsylvania State U. system has said in the past that releasing the salary of its president, Graham R. Spanier, could cause morale problems.

Five private-college presidents have passed the seven-figure mark in their pay.

PRESIDENTIAL PROFILE: Donald E. Ross has served as president of Lynn U. and its precursors for 34 years.

SPECIALIZED COLLEGES: Categories of specialized schools vary in presidential pay.

A growing number of college presidents are on easy street, despite the tough economic roads that both public and private institutions are traveling.

Raises for chief executives outstrip those for the rank and file at public colleges.

Pay for private-college presidents has attracted faculty resentment and the attention of the Internal Revenue Service.

PRESIDENTIAL PROFILES

A VOW OF POVERTY: The president of Holy Family University has increased annual fund raising to more than $10-million, but she has never gotten a paycheck.

'BURY ME UNDER THE OAK TREE': In pricey San Francisco, the head of New College of California earns a base salary of $48,000.

AVERAGE PAY, AMBITIOUS LEADER: The chief executive of St. Leo University falls near the middle of the pay scale for private-college presidents.