Twenty-three private-college presidents were paid more than $1-million in the 2007-8 school year, led by Shirley Ann Jackson, head of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education pay survey.

Ms. Jackson earned just shy of $1.6-million. She took a voluntary 5-percent cut for the current fiscal year. Rensselaer officials defended her compensation, citing the success of a $1.4-billion fund-raising campaign, an influx of star faculty members, and more than $690-million in new building and renovation projects at the Troy, N.Y., campus.

Median pay for the 419 college presidents included in the analysis was $358,746, up 6.5 percent from 2006-7. (A median figure indicates that half of the leaders made more and half made less.)

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