So would you also use that criteria for the office of Governor of the entire State of Oregon? U. of O. president gets $660,000, the governor gets something like $90,000.
No, I wouldn't even use the salary of the POTUS, which is $400,000 (I believe). In my mind, a university (even public university) is more like a corporation than a government department, and the position of a university president is a lot different than a standard civil-service position. As an example, numerous Cabinet members have left multi-million dollar positions to serve the government for much lower salaries; government positions are not compensated fairly for what they demand, and the people who take those positions do them for reasons other than monetary gain. In contrast, a university president should be compensated for doing his job well, and while the criteria by which success would be judged is different than for a private corporation, success in this realm should still be compensated at market value.
[Note before proceeding: this is a different argument than for a public school system superintendent. While I think that such positions should be compensated fairly, I also think that the bidding for so-called "top talent" is spiraling out of control, and there are good (i.e., bad) examples of that here in Maryland.]
Not knowing the numbers, I Googled on "university president salaries". Very interesting results:
Top College President Salaries Approaching $1 Million, New Survey Reports
Excerpted:
"While pay for public university presidents still has not reached those heights, the salary gap between public and private college leaders is rapidly shrinking, according to the report. Twelve public university presidents will earn more than $500,000 in 2003-4, twice the number of last year. "
The article also notes that states only pay a portion of the salaries of university presidents for public universities. "In reaction to the rising presidential salaries, some state governments have proposed capping the state contribution to public presidential salaries. Florida has already imposed a cap on the state contribution, while a bill under consideration in Ohio would limit state contributions to presidential salaries to the same salary as the governor."
That seems reasonable.
One more article:
UF president to be among highest paid in the nation
Excerpting a couple of paragraphs; pay attention to the last one:
"GAINESVILLE - Incoming University of Florida president Bernie Machen could make up to an average of $685,625 annually if he stays eight years and meets goals set by the school's trustees.
That salary package would make him among the most highly paid public university presidents in the country, according to a Sunday report in the Gainesville Sun, which obtained a draft of his contract."
...
"Last year, state lawmakers set a $225,000 limit on the amount of public money that can be spent annually on a president's salary.
UF equally will tap three direct support organizations to pay Machen beyond the cap: the UF Foundation, the University Athletic Association and Shands Healthcare, said Manny Fernandez, the UF trustee who recruited Machen."
....
"If you want to be in the top 10 among public universities in rankings, he ought to be compensated at that level," Fernandez said. "You are talking about running a very complex $3-billion company here."