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Gov. Brown Blasts Pay Hike For CSU San Diego President

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Jerry Brown is criticizing a plan to increase the salary of a California State University president when deep budget cuts are prompting the 23-campus system to raise tuition.

   By a 4-2 vote, a committee of the CSU Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a $400,000 compensation package for the Elliot Hirshman, the incoming president of San Diego State University. That's $100,000 more than his predecessor.

   The full board is scheduled to vote on Hirshman's pay Tuesday afternoon.

   In a letter to the board, Brown questioned whether Hirshman needed to be paid twice as much of the nation's Chief Justice. He asked the board to re-evaluate how it sets administrator salaries.

   CSU officials defended the move, saying the university needs to provide competitive compensation to recruit and retain top administrators.

   (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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