Think the highest paid college president in Pennsylvania wears a Nittany Lions cap, squeezes into a Panthers sweat shirt or enjoys a personal parking spot at the state's only Ivy League school?

Think again. The biggest earner by far in a new survey of presidential pay wasn't found at Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh or the University of Pennsylvania.

Rather, it was James P. Gallagher, who stepped down in August after 23 years as president of 3,200-student Philadelphia University.

Dr. Gallagher, who turned down the presidency of Duquesne University in 2001, received $2,557,219 in salary and benefits during 2005-06, including $2.2 million in deferred compensation fully vested and accrued over five years, according to the survey released today by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

That made him the fifth-highest earner among private college leaders nationwide in total compensation for 2005-06, the most current year available from those schools.

In fact, the leader of this relatively small institution made more that year than the heads of Penn State, Pitt and Penn combined. According to the survey, Penn State President Graham Spanier received $545,000 in salary and benefits, Pitt's Chancellor Mark Nordenberg received $517,500 in salary and benefits, and Penn President Amy Gutmann's salary and benefits totaled $777,692. The figures for Pitt and Penn State do not include that year's employer retirement contributions.

Elizabeth Gemmill, trustees chairwoman for Philadelphia University, said Dr. Gallagher worked most of his tenure without an executive retirement plan. The deferred compensation program was an attempt to rectify that in one lump-sum payment.

She and other campus officials described him as a transformative leader, greatly boosting enrollment and the scope of academic offerings at a school that until 1999 was known as the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science.

"You're looking at someone who was close to retiring, who was without a suitable retirement plan, who had been in place a long time and had done a good job," she said. "I think you owe him a retirement."

Ms. Gemmill said the deferred payment plan, though developed shortly after Dr. Gallagher turned down the Duquesne job, was in no way connected to that decision. She said she knew the award would draw attention but added that his regular pay and benefits of about $300,000, minus the retirement money, was in line given his tenure and success.

"He had a very good run," she said.

The Chronicle said competition for executive talent is spawning bigger pay packages for college presidents nationwide. In Pennsylvania, Dr. Gallagher was one of 11 presidents who earned more than a half-million dollars a year, up from eight in last year's survey.

The amounts are smaller than those found in corporate America. And the leader of a Division 1-A public university typically earns a fraction of what the school's football coach makes, the Chronicle found.

Nevertheless, the data suggest the upward spiral of presidential pay continues.

The survey examined executives at 1,017 public, private and community colleges. It generally relied on 2005-06 data for private schools and 2006-07 data for public school presidents including those at Pitt and Penn State.

In Western Pennsylvania, Westminster College President R. Thomas Williamson received $546,332 in total salary and benefits for 2005-06. His earnings included $260,000 accrued over four years and payable upon signing a new contract, plus another $25,000. Carnegie Mellon University President Jared Cohon received slightly less, at $536,071 in total pay and benefits that year.

Other Pennsylvania school leaders earning more than $500,000 in pay and benefits were Drexel University President Constantine N. Papadakis at $969,006; Lehigh University President Gregory C. Farrington at $540,958; Temple University President Ann Weaver Hart at $505,000; American College President Laurence Barton at $543,210 (for calendar year 2005); and Thomas Jefferson University President Robert Barchi at $827,471.

The compensation for Drs. Spanier and Hart as well as Mr. Nordenberg included use of a car and a house. Dr. Hart also received a $40,000 performance bonus and her employer retirement contributions were not included in the year's total.

In a July payment too late to be reflected in this year's survey, Mr. Nordenberg received a total of $375,000 from Pitt for a just-completed five-year retention program that has awarded him $75,000 annually in deferred compensation payable if he remained in office through June 2007.

Nationwide, the biggest earners were at private institutions, and often, those atop the list received large compensation packages pegged to their departures. The five highest in 2005-06, all of whom have since stepped down, were Lynn University's Donald E. Ross at $5,738,422; American University's Benjamin Ladner at $4,270,665; Northeastern University's Richard Freeland at $2,887,785; Simmons College's Daniel Cheever Jr. at $2,860,686; and Dr. Gallagher.

Among current private college presidents, three earned more than $1 million. A year ago, only one was paid at that level.

The upward trend in compensation was no less apparent at public institutions that face greater pressure to keep tuition costs down. Eight had presidents making more than $700,000, compared with two in last year's survey.

The biggest earner among presidents of public schools was David P. Roselle, president of the University of Delaware, at $874,687.

Just behind were University of Virginia President John T. Casteen III at $753,672; Mark A. Emmert of the University of Washington at $752,700; Mary Sue Coleman of the University of Michigan at $743,151; and Mark G. Yudof of the University of Texas at $742,209.

The job's growing complexity makes finding suitable leaders more difficult, so when one is in place schools "really want to have some golden handcuffs to make sure they don't leave," said Paul Fain, a Chronicle staff reporter involved in the executive pay survey.

The Chronicle found that a third of public university chiefs worked without a written contract. And 59 percent of presidents made between $200,001 and $500,000. But not everyone received a big paycheck: Six percent of presidents, many at religious affiliated institutions, received no pay.