Presidential pay at UA:
Regents are expected to vote Friday on a three-year contract to pay the new president of the University of Arizona annual compensation of at least $988,000, which will make his guaranteed salary the highest of the three state university presidents.
The new president of the University of Arizona is slated to receive a compensation package of at least $988,000 a year, which will make his guaranteed annual salary the highest of the three state university presidents.
The Arizona Board of Regents on Friday is expected to vote on a three-year contract with Dr. Robert Robbins, a top cardiac surgeon and researcher who is president and CEO of Texas Medical Center.
Under the contract terms, Robbins will get $600,000 in annual salary and the University of Arizona Foundation, the school’s non-profit fund-raising arm, will give him an additional $200,000 in private funds.
He will receive a housing allowance of $70,000 a year and a $10,000 car allowance. His pension is valued at $108,000 a year.
Robbins also is expected to be eligible for additional performance compensation if he meets goals established by the regents that, in the past, sometimes have been as high as six figures. Those goals
and terms have not yet been set.
Robbins, 59, was chosen for the position after a nationwide search. Current President Ann Weaver Hart announced last year she would not seek a renewal when her contract ended.
Regents Chairman Greg Patterson, in a statement issued last month, said that Robbins “has an impressive track record of leadership, research accomplishments and demonstrated success in managing the largest medical complex in the world.”
Hart will transition to a university professor and take a one-year paid sabbatical when Robbins takes over on June 1. She will keep her current $670,000-a-year compensation until her presidential contract expires on June 30, 2018.
Robbins’ total guaranteed compensation will make him higher paid than Arizona State University President Michael Crow, although Sarah Harper, regents’ spokeswoman, pointed out that each president’s base salary is the same at $600,000.
The difference: Robbins is slated to get $200,000 from the UA Foundation, while Crow receives $100,000 from the ASU Foundation.
Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng has a compensation package worth $540,000, according to the regents. NAU is the smallest of the three state universities.
The number of university presidents whose salaries exceed $1 million has been growing in recent years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which compiles an annual survey of compensation.
The Chronicle reported in December that 39 private college presidents had compensation packages of more than $1 million, up from 32 the year before.