Officials at Boston University disclosed yesterday that the institution's long-term president and chancellor, John R. Silber, collected $6.1 million last year, two years after he stepped down as leader.

The money includes $3.3 million in deferred compensation from the 32 years that Dr. Silber worked at the university and a house in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Boston that university trustees agreed he could live in for the rest of his life. Living in the house was valued at $305,000 a year. The package also includes $770,000 from an unusual arrangement in which the university rewarded Dr. Silber with an extra year's salary for every five years worked.

The compensation package, which some experts said was the largest in academia, was defended by university officials but touched off outrage among other academics.

Disclosure of the amount comes as the university is overhauling its governance policies, hoping to rehabilitate its image after several expensive mishaps.

Three years ago, the university offered the president's job to Daniel S. Goldin, the former administrator of NASA, then paid him $1.8 million not to take the job after he clashed with Dr. Silber and the university trustees. Before that, a family that donated $3 million for a library expansion threatened to sue, saying the university had used the money for other purposes. Eventually, the university was forced to return the donation.

In a written statement, Dr. Silber, 79, said the bulk of the payout, totaling $4.5 million, was money he had earned and set aside in a "segregated investment account run by the university" during his years as president and chancellor, plus returns on those investments.

"None of the deferred salary nor any of the income earned from it came from an additional payment by the university," Dr. Silber wrote. "Boston University paid me nothing beyond my salary."

"This is not a bonus," he added. "It is not a golden parachute or a gift from the university."

Dr. Silber has long been a mainstay in the annual rankings of highest paid university leaders published by The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2004, the university reported that he earned $1.25 million. Dr. Silber, though already retired, was listed by The Chronicle as one of only five university leaders earning more than $1 million.

The university revealed details of the package before making them public through a required tax filing next Monday, said Stephen P. Burgay, a spokesman for the university. The university's current president, Robert A. Brown, receives a salary of $650,000, Mr. Burgay said.

Experts said Dr. Silber's compensation package was the steepest they had seen, and it was revealed at a time of wide discontent over tuition increases at universities that regularly outpace inflation. Tuition, room and board at Boston University is $41,600 a year, officials said.

Roger W. Bowen, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors, described the Silber package as "symptomatic" of something larger happening on campuses. "Presidents once upon a time were seen as colleagues, and professors hold on to that romantic notion," Mr. Bowen said. These days, he said, they are becoming more like C.E.O.'s. "There is outrage," he said.

"Is student access to higher education improving or otherwise?" Mr. Bowen asked. "Is faculty compensation improving or otherwise? Are health benefits getting better or worse? The answer to all those questions is they're getting worse."

"Some presidents make five times what the average full professor makes," he said. "You've got to ask, 'Is that right?' "

Sheldon Steinbach, general counsel for the American Council on Education, which represents universities, described Dr. Silber's package as "the largest compensation package that I've ever seen" in more than 30 years. Previously, $1.75 million to $2 million "has been about the tops," he said.

Joseph Mercurio, executive vice president at Boston University, said much of the money had been set aside as it was earned, "meaning we did not have to go into the '05 budget and pull $6.1 million out."

Alan Leventhal, chairman of the university board, acknowledged that the package represented "a very significant number," reflecting "an extraordinary length of time on a job that was done extremely well, given that the stature of Boston University was raised so significantly during those years."

Despite defending the package, both men said the university had instituted broad changes, including term limits for board members, policies covering conflicts of interest and reviews to bring executive pay in line with national norms.

What is most important, Mr. Leventhal said, "is that the university has taken steps to make sure that we have the right governance for today looking forward."

Mr. Steinbach noted that Dr. Silber, a fiery figure often credited with transforming the university from an unremarkable commuter institution to a reputable research center, had negotiated the terms of his compensation with the board in another era.

"The whole ethos of the post-Enron, post-WorldCom era went into effect long after the basic contractual agreement between Dr. Silber and the board was executed," he said.
He predicted that, given the efforts to improve transparency at the university, donors "will most likely view this entire incident as part of yesterday's ballgame, and a matter to just move beyond."