In a system reminiscent of the tributes paid in feudal eras, university foundations in Florida have forked over tens of thousands of dollars to raise the salary of the state university system’s chancellor, to $361,725 from $231,750. The University of Florida’s foundation, for example, gave more than $55,000, The Palm Beach Post reported today.

Legislators, who already are battling the university’s Board of Governors over its authority to set tuition and who have threatened to dismantle it, have raised questions about the contributions, which are said to be voluntary. But the chairwoman of the board told the Post that the university system could not attract a leader with as much experience as the chancellor, Mark Rosenberg, without the additional money.

The newspaper reported that Mr. Rosenberg, who has more than 30 years of experience in the system, was paid $245,000 as provost of Florida International University before becoming chancellor, in 2006. State law caps Florida’s share of university presidents’ compensation.

As state support for public colleges and universities has declined, an increasing number have turned to alternative sources of money to supplement the compensation of their chief executives. It’s a controversial trend because the donors thereby gain clout with the president and with the governing board setting his or her compensation. In this case, the donors are the fund-raising arms of the system’s constituent campuses.

However, Florida State won’t be giving money this year, the paper reported. Its president, the former House speaker T.K. Wetherell, said that at a time when public universities expect a $113-million state budget cut, his foundation’s suggested donation of $42,200 was unaffordable. —Scott Carlson