When the salaries of many Minnesota residents have been frozen, and tuition at Minnesota’s No. 1 college is rising, the University of Minnesota ought to reconsider what it pays its president and head basketball coach.

Wisely — politically and financially — University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks recently froze his salary, as well as the salaries of the top 40 university employees.

Bruininks is among the best-paid university presidents in the U.S. at salary and benefits of $733,421 per year. The salary alone sounds quite comfortable at $423,000. He’s No. 7 on a list of public university presidents with the highest compensation released by the Chronicle of Higher Education recently.

In contrast, Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Pawlenty is paid an annual salary of $119,850.

And even more alarming is that the University of Minnesota pays its head basketball coach, Tubby Smith, an annual salary, without benefits, of more than $1 million.

While these salaries were set before the economy tumbled, the move to freeze the salaries should have come hundreds of thousands of dollars ago. The freeze will save the college $500,000 in its first year.

But more action is needed. How about a pay cut for Bruininks and Smith? That would save the college even more money and perhaps avoid the need to again raise tuition and fees for students. Tuition and fees climbed to more than $10,000 this year.

Minnesota’s main university, and its athletic programs, must be led by people who are qualified, and competition for administrators and coaches with the necessary background is stiff. These are demanding jobs that ought to be adequately compensated. But, perhaps in today’s economy, the definition of adequate compensation has changed.

— The Daily Journal of International Falls, Nov. 28