I do believe the colleges and universities are grossly underpaid.  I keep a close eye on a couple of the colleges as they are close to my home and the commute would be awesome.  Has anyone ever actually looked at the job postings they put out?  I have.  I work in finance and accounting and am always looking at manager/director jobs in that space.  The salary ranges they post are an absolute joke.  Things like $60-80K for a manager, $70-90K for a director.  I make twice that much in the private sector, not including the bonus.  Also have the pension and benefits.  Hell, I was making $80K as a senior financial analyst at EDS back 16 years ago!  Can't speak to other areas of the public service, but the folks in those colleges are getting completely hosed.