By ERIC GORSKI
AP Education Writer
The recession has reached the executive suites of the nation’s public universities and colleges, putting a stop to a string of large annual pay increases for school presidents.
A survey released Monday by the Chronicle of Higher Education showed compensation packages of chief executives at public schools leveling off in 2008-2009, rising a relatively modest 2.3 percent. One in 10 saw their pay decline. Some who did get raises or bonuses gave the money back to their schools.
Presidential salaries at public universities and colleges have come under greater scrutiny as many bursting-at-the-seams schools raise tuition to offset steep declines in state funding.