University of Texas presidents already receive half a million dollar salaries, but now they could be in store for a bonus as well.
A resolution passed by the University of Texas Board of Regents on Thursday approved a pay incentive plan for the heads of the 15 campuses and 11 other administrators and executives.
The higher pay would be tied to meeting goals around saving money, research dollars, fundraising and graduation rates. They stand to make up to 10 percent of a president's base salary in their bonuses, according to the Austin Statesman, but the details still need to be worked out. UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa pushed for the plan as a part of a way to run the universities more like the business.
The plan comes out of the Cigarroa's “Framework for Advancing Excellence" -- meant to improve accountability, outcomes and efficiency within the system, according to Inside Higher Ed. It was adopted unanimously by the Regents in 2011.
UT-Austin President Bill Powers gets paid $667,212, which is more than most college presidents and chancellors, but doesn't crack the top 10. UT-Dallas President David Daniel currently rakes in $555,480.
However, while other schools around the country have struggled financially, things at UT haven't been too bad during the recession.
The UT's Permanent University Fund is the richest endowment for any public college or university system in the country. UT has only had incremental increases in tuition in recent years, sometimes falling at or below inflation.
When Powers got into a clash with Regents that nearly cost him his job, it was all over Powers' request for a modest 2.6 percent tuition increase. They instead decided to freeze undergraduate tuition at current levels.
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