Salaries for professors are not the main expense in a university. In fact, salaries have increased at a much slower pace then tuition. The whole infrastructure of the university is what is expensive: labs, administration, fitness centers, counseling, etc. Real education is just a small part of the package when a student goes to a university.
Also, tuition is not going to research. Most research is payed by the Government and a few non-profit institutions.
Let us not forget the salaries of administrators. Administrative bloat is a huge problem at many universities, and a large number of these people get higher salaries than tenured professors. Is this personnel overhead necessary? Why can't professors have more of a direct influence on university policy? I suspect many of them would like to run things more collectively, with more attention paid to the students.
The "corporate university" thing makes me sick. No thank you, Mr. CEO President.
Also, tuition is not going to research. Most research is payed by the Government and a few non-profit institutions.