NEW YORK — E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State University, was the highest-paid leader of a public college last year, making $1.32 million as state institutions of higher learning raised tuition, slashed programs and furloughed employees.

Fifty-nine U.S. public university presidents were paid more than $500,000 in total compensation in the year ended June 30, 2010, according to a survey of 185 heads of universities and state college systems released Monday by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Gee, 67, was the best-paid president in fiscal 2009.

State colleges and universities have faced declining revenue as tax collections fell during the recession and states cut education budgets. The University of California system raised tuition 32 percent in 2009 and required faculty to take unpaid days off. The University of Washington in Seattle eliminated 850 jobs while Washington State University, in Pullman, eliminated minors and major in dance and theater after dropping the program. State presidents have to walk a “tightrope” to explain their compensation, said Jeffrey Selingo, editor of the Chronicle.