Receiving federal assistance may entail pay cuts for fat cat executives in business, but no such worries for highly paid big shots in higher education. One of the largest industries in America, one far more dependent on federal largess than Wall Street or Detroit, has immunity. Ellen Gibson of Business Week reports:The president of the University of Florida got a nearly $300,000 performance bonus in 2008. So did the head of Florida State University. Meanwhile, Governor Charlie Crist authorized double-digit tuition increases at all public universities in Florida, which has been hit hard by foreclosures and bankruptcies. But largesse for university presidents wasn't confined to the Sunshine State last year. ...University presidents may not be as generously compensated as their counterparts in the for-profit world, but their pay has been rising steeply over the past 15 years, especially compared to professors' incomes. One-third of presidents at public universities now earn more than...(Read Full Post)