Nearly two-thirds of the top 100 earners saw their pay decrease in 2010. Gordon's own pay dropped by $7,426. CSU officials said several straight years of state budget cuts have forced the 23-school system to freeze or reduce pay through furloughs of scores of administrators, faculty and other staff, a trend that could continue as the system plans for at least a $650 million cut in 2011-12. The system paid $2.4 billion to 57,163 employees in 2010 – 7 percent less than the $2.6 billion paid to 59,716 employees in 2009, according to new CSU data. CSU chancellor and university presidents continued to rank as the top paid system employees – each earning well above $250,000 annually. Cal State Fullerton President Milton Gordon, who earned $294,615 in total pay in 2010, ranked as the top earner at the campus.But their salaries also took a hit.
