The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week that Penn State President Graham Spanier will earn a $545,016 base salary for the 2006-2007 academic year, making him the third-highest paid president at a U.S. public university.

This is a pay hike of $28,416 from last year.

In the Big Ten, Penn State ranks second for highest base salary. Only Northwestern, a private institution, pays its president more, with a salary of $774,004 for the last fiscal year. Indiana ranks the lowest with a $275,500 base salary for the 2005-2006 academic year.

Spanier's salary is on par with the rest of his Big Ten colleagues and as the president of an elite public university, one can argue that he deserves it. But that is a topic for another editorial.

For now, we applaud the administration for releasing Spanier's salary. The university did the right thing by publicizing the information. Regardless of whether it should or should not release Spanier's salary, the administration is not legally obligated to release the salary information of any Penn State faculty member. However, by doing so, the administration is fostering an environment of openness.

And that is much needed at our university.

It is good to know where our money is going. As president of a large, state-related university, Spanier's salary should be public knowledge. We should know how tax and tuition money is used.

Considering some people are lucky to make $28,416 in one year, students and taxpayers have the right to know how much Penn State's president makes and how it compares to other university presidents.

In the past, the administration has only released the salary when it deemed necessary. Hopefully, the administration will continue to release the president's salary on an annual basis.

The Harrisburg Patriot-News is battling Penn State in a state supreme court case to release the salaries of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, Penn State budget officer Richard Althouse, Penn State Vice President and Provost Rodney Erickson and Penn State Senior Vice President for Finance Gary Schultz.

The commonwealth court ruled in favor of the newspaper last year, but Penn State appealed the case.

The university should do the right thing in this situation and make these salaries public just as they did with Spanier's.

Striving for a more transparent environment will truly help the university in upholding its pristine public image.