NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ohio State University is No. 1 again, but not in football or basketball. For the second year in a row, the school's president was the highest paid public university executive in the United States, according to a study published Monday.
The Chronicle of Higher Education said E. Gordon Gee, Ohio State's president, took home $1.6 million last year, up from $1.3 million in 2008.
Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington, was the second highest paid executive in the survey, with total compensation of over $900,000 last year. Patrick Harker, president of the University of Delaware, came in third with over $810,000 in total income.
Gee's office did not immediately respond to calls requesting comment. But The Chronicle said Gee is one of "a growing number" of presidents that have given money back to their institutions, saying he donated $320,850 to help endow a scholarship fund.
The Chronicle, a Washington-based publication focusing on education,surveyed total compensation -- defined as salary and benefits -- for top executives at 185 public universities.
Gee is the only public university president earning more than $1 million. By contrast, The Chronicle reported in November that 23 presidents of the nation's top private universities took home more than $1 million in 2008, the most recent year surveyed.
The survey found that compensation for public university execs overall increased at a much smaller rate in 2009 than in recent years. The median total compensation for chief executives last year was $436,111, up 2.3% from 2008. After adjusting for inflation, however, compensation rose 1.1%.