State higher education officials are looking at whether the salaries of chief executive officers at the regents universities are competitive.

“We want to make sure we can attract the best people,” Kansas Board of Regents Chairman Ed McKechnie of Arcadia said Thursday.

The board is trying to fill the vacancy of president at Emporia State University.

“We’re just studying everything,” he said. The board will make a decision later this year on salary issues.

The board held a closed-door session on Wednesday on the issue of chief executive salaries.

The board has not granted salary increases to the heads of regents schools since 2009 as the state has struggled with the recession.

Kansas University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little is paid $267,177 by the state and has a salary cap of $425,000. The difference is made up by private funds from the Kansas University Endowment Association. This is the level she was hired at in 2009.

Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz makes $255,298 with a total salary cap of $350,000. Donald Beggs, the president of Wichita State, makes $223,391 with a cap of $277,160. Fort Hays State President Ed Hammond and Pittsburg State President Steven Scott each make $202,593. Hammond’s cap is $223,860, while Scott’s is $213,200. The last Emporia State president, Michael Lane, made $202,540 with a cap of $213,200.

Andy Tompkins, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Board of Regents, makes $185,000 with a cap of $197,000.