The 10 Highest-Paid College Presidents

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University of Chicago president Robert J. Zimmer made more than $3,ooo,ooo in 2011, the most of any private college executive, according a new report from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The higher education publication surveyed executive compensation data collected from 2011 IRS filings for the 500 colleges with the largest endowments. The Chronicle found that the median pay for college executives in 2011 was $410,523 - a 3% increase from 2010.

42 college presidents recieved more than $1,000,000 from their positions in 2011, up from 36 the previous year, according to The Chronicle.

Ron B. Seifert, an expert on higher education presidential compensation, told The Chronicle that Zimmer's high pay may be due to the size and complexity of the school's budget. The University of Chicago is "one of just 10 private colleges with budgets greater than $3-billion," according to The Chronicle.

"It would be really difficult for you to prove to me that the challenges associated with running a $200-million institution are the same as somebody running an institution at $2-billion. They are inherently different in terms of the managerial skills required," Seifert said.

Here are the 10 highest paid college presidents:

1. Robert J. Zimmer (University of Chicago) - $3,358,723
2. Joseph E. Aoun (Northeastern University) - $3,121,864
3. Dennis J. Murray (Marist College) - $2,688,148
4. Lee C. Bollinger (Columbia University) - $2,327,344
5. Lawrence S. Bacow (Tufts University) - $2,223,752
6. Amy Gutmann (University of Pennsylvania) - $2,091,764
7. Anthony J. Catanese (Florida Institute of Technology) - $1,884,008
8. Esther L. Barazzone (Chatham University) - $1,812,132
9. Shirley Ann Jackson (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) - $1,752,642
10. Richard C. Levin (Yale University) - $1,652,543