Eugene David<br>...The One-Minute Pundit

Posted 10:16 AM by Gene

Pity the -- poor college president: twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week he must work to raise tuition. What a thankless task, for which he deserves seven digits.

The nice thing is he can pass off some of the agony to his cli -- the PARENTS.

Topping the list is Shirley Ann Jackson at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., whose total compensation the Chronicle pegged at nearly $1.6 million....

Jackson, a physicist and former Clinton administration official, has clashed with Rensselaer faculty and been criticized for spending time away from campus to serve on six corporate boards. But she volunteered this year to return 5% of her base salary — which the Chronicle reported at just more than $1 million in fiscal 2008 — to be used for student scholarships. All salaries for senior administrators are frozen this year, RPI said.

Jackson received a strong statement of support from the university.

Applications to the school have doubled, research volume has tripled, and $690 million has in new construction and renovations have [SIC] taken place in Jackson's decade as president, said William N. Walker, Vice President, strategic communications and external relations, in a statement issued by the school. A request to interview Jackson was denied.

"The value she contributes to the Institute far exceeds the amount she is paid," Walker said.

Bill! When's the IPO?