The 10 Highest Paid Public College Presidents

Former Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee made a staggering $6,057,615 in total compensation for 2012-2013, making him the highest paid public college executive in the country, according to a new report from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Gee - who left OSU last year and is now president of West Virginia University - made much of that money through more than $2,500,000 in deferred compensation and a $1,500,000 severance package following his abrupt resignation in June 2013. Gee's $851,303 base pay was also the highest of any public university president.

Despite this massive payment package, public college presidents still made less on average than their private college counterparts.

Nine public college presidents made over $1,000,000 last year, Chronicle reports, the most ever. Most of them, however, left their positions in 2013, and may have recieved large severance or retirement bonuses.

We wanted to find out which college presidents were making the most without these extra payments.

Using Chronicle's database of public college president's compensation, here are the 10 highest paid executives by base pay:

1. E. Gordon Gee (Ohio State University) - $851,303
2. James P. Clements (West Virginia University) - $775,000
3. Francisco G. Cigarroa (University of Texas system) - $751,920
4. Ray L. Watts (University of Alabama at Birmingham) - $748,464
5. Renu Khator (University of Houston main campus) - $700,000
6. Patrick T. Harker (University of Delaware) - $669,120
7. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. (State University of New York at Stony Brook) - $644,455
8. Satish K. Tripathi (University at Buffalo) - $643,309
9. William C. Powers (University of Texas at Austin) - $628,190
10. Elson S. Floyd (Washington State University) - $625,000