During a time when the nation is pinching its pennies, it's refreshing to know that our university's president isn't sitting on stacks of cash like others.

With a base salary of $216,000 plus $69,000 in annual deferred pay, MSU President M. Peter McPherson is at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to paychecks for presidents at Big Ten public schools.

This information follows in the footsteps of a Chronicle of Higher Education study finding that the other university presidents in the Big Ten have an average salary of more than $316,000.

There are plenty of organizations McPherson could work for where he would make a much larger salary, yet he has stayed true to MSU by not placing money on his priority list. An annual base salary of $216,000 might seem like a lot of cash to a college student, but this money is not much when it's put into perspective.

Being president of a large university is comparable to being CEO of a large company. But while both jobs require responsibility, organization and dedication, a CEO can make millions -