A growing percentage of college and university presidents now make more than $500,000 a year in salary and compensation, according to an annual survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education. None of the presidents at the three Utah schools in the survey approached that level of pay.

"We wish we could be a little more competitive," University of Utah spokeswoman Coralie Alder said.

Each year, the Chronicle tracks presidential income at colleges and universities. The median compensation for public university leaders was nearly $375,000 this year, up 4.1 percent from last year, the survey found.

Utah fell a bit short of that mark, but the study didn't adjust for differences in cost of living from one state to another.

Including bonuses and retirement pay, U. President Michael K. Young makes $360,884 and Utah State University President Stan L. Albrecht gets $300,398. Both presidents earned a 4 percent to 5 percent raise over last year.

"The responsibilities of these presidents are huge," said Mark Spencer, Utah's associate commissioner of higher education. "Last year Stan Albrecht hosted 22 parties in his home. They earn every dollar they make."

State university presidents in neighboring states such as Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado make an average of $200,000 more than Albrecht, according to the survey.

Utah's System of Higher Education is always working to boost presidential salaries, said Mark Spencer, Utah's associate commissioner of higher education. Staffers identify 10 similar institutions for every Utah school and try to bring presidential salaries within 90 percent of their peers, he said.

Compared with peer institutions boasting a medical school and comprehensive health services, the U. still comes up short. Among three universities with similar services and costs of living, only one provided a lesser compensation package than the U.'s. Two others paid more than $550,000.

The survey reported presidential salaries for 183 public research universities and 816 private colleges. Compensation packages were at least $500,000 for 23 percent of public university presidents and about 10 percent of private college presidents.

According to a Chronicle analysis, growing demands and an emerging corporate culture at universities "have contributed to an industrywide ratcheting up of presidential salaries."

University pay hikes could add to ever-growing tuition rates, but the impact is minimal in Utah. The state pays an average of 65 percent of all university employee salaries, so presidential pay packages have a miniscule effect on tuition, Spencer said.

Only the U. and USU appeared in the Chronicle survey because it included only research universities with at least 10,000 students. Among private schools, only Westminster College made the list. Brigham Young University claims religious exemption from filing the tax form surveyors used.

Westminster President Michael S. Bassis takes home about $256,313 including benefits. About 32.5 percent of his peers nationwide command similar salaries and 36 percent make significantly less.

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* Nicole Stricker can be contacted at nstricker@sltrib.com or 801-257-8999.