Paul Zingg ?” president of Chico State University since 2004, longtime sports historian and publisher of several books and nearly 100 articles on American higher education ?” has now acquired a new title: student scholarship benefactor.

For 23 years, Zingg has steadily, but quietly, given 10 percent of his income back to students, said Joe Wills, director of public affairs at Chico.

Recently, Zingg’s generosity has received attention in light of the Oct. 27 CSU Board of Trustees’ executive salary increases. As his salary was bumped 14.6 percent, to $237,756, and housing stipend up $20,000, to $50,000, Zingg increased his student endowment fund to $60,000.

Each year, the interest from the $60,000 endowment will fund three $1,000 Presidential Scholarships, said Zingg, in a recent Orion article.

Zingg said since he had already been supporting the scholars program before the raise, he thought it would be right to increase his commitment toward students.

The competitive Presidential Scholars program at Chico, which was founded in 1995, awards $1,000 to many incoming freshmen who have achieved academic excellence, in addition to awarding 10 four-year scholarships to top applicants.

Thomas Whitcher, president of Associated Students at Chico, praised Zingg for his dedication to students.

“It speaks a lot about President Zingg as a person ?” he’s very student-centered and also puts students first,” Whitcher said. “It reflects his philosophy and his thinking.”

Whitcher said that Zingg made the best out of a worst situation brought on by the trustees ?” which included a student undergraduate fee increase of 8 percent ?” when he moved to give some of his raise back to students.

Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez said he disagrees with the student fee increase and said he thinks “Every qualified student in the state should receive a free education.”

Gonzalez was not available to comment about Zingg’s recent endowment contribution, but Frank Whitlatch, director of Public Affairs at Sac State, said, “We try to just speak for ourselves, and we’ll let other presidents speak for themselves.”

Gonzalez, who also received a raise ?” an increase of 13.3 percent to $255,024, and increase in housing allowance to $60,000 ?” said that although he didn’t have concrete plans for the money, he would continue to work hard and put it to good use in the competitive California housing market.

“I have a mortgage where my payments are pretty high,” said Gonzalez at the student town hall meeting.

Gonzalez said the executive salary increases were aimed at putting the CSU presidential salaries back on par with the national average, which, according to the California Postsecondary Education Commission, is $325,502.

“The gap for university presidents is almost 50 percent behind of the national average,” Gonzalez said. He said the trustees moved to raise the salaries by an average of 13.7 percent because the lack of competitiveness in the presidential salaries could make it difficult to retain good leadership.

Zingg is somewhat uncomfortable talking publicly about the issue because he feels it is a private matter and doesn’t want attention drawn to him, Wills said.

“He just feels it’s the right thing to do,” Wills said. “He has devoted his life to higher education.”

For other presidents to follow in his path is not Zingg’s goal, Whitcher said, but if it happens, it’s an added benefit.

Before coming to Chico, Zingg was provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo from 1995 to 2004. Before that, he served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Cal Poly. Zingg has a Ph.D. in History from the University of Georgia, Athens and earned his undergraduate degree in 1968 from Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina.

Jessica Weidling can be reached at [email protected]