"The definition of a college president is someone who lives in a big house and begs for money," goes an old line that college presidents like to say to appear self-deprecating. Fortunately, college presidents are very well compensated for their efforts.

Look, it's a new Chronicle of Higher Ed report on which private college presidents are raking in the most $krilla. Since these people are not being paid with public dollars, perhaps their salaries are somewhat more defensible. (Football coaches are the only public university employees earning millions of dollars.) The top five:

1. Bob Kerrey (pictured), New School- $3 million

2. Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute- $2.3 million

3. G. David Pollick, Birmingham-Southern College- $2.3 million

4. Mark Stephen Wrighton, Washington University in St. Louis- $2.3 million

5. Nicholas S. Zeppos, Vanderbilt University- $2.2 million

The top three* (*okay except perhaps RPI, my apologies to their extremely aggressive engineering graduates) are not even "real schools."

Meanwhile cumulative student debt is over $1 trillion, but college will teach you the sophistry skills necessary to convince people that these things are unconnected.

[Chronicle of Higher Ed. Photo: AP]