HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Median Compensation for Public College Heads Grew 3% in 2010-11. “The median total compensation of the 199 public college presidents surveyed was $421,395, up 2.9 percent from 2009-10, the survey found, while the median base pay, $383,800, increased 1.3 percent. As in the past, E. Gordon Gee of Ohio State University was the highest-paid president, earning $1,992,221 in total compensation — 12.3 times the compensation for the average full professor at Ohio State. His base pay was $814,156, with the rest coming as a bonus and deferred compensation.”