It's official, Dr. Robert C. Robbins is the next University of Arizona president.Β
Robbins' three-year contract, approved by the Arizona Board of Regents, will pay him $988,000 in salary and benefits. He is the highest paid state university president in Arizona history, though he will be taking a pay cut from the $1.2 million-plus salary he earns as CEO of Texas Medical Center.Β
"Iβm very enthusiastic about getting started on this very important leadership position," the new UA president told the regents during Friday's meeting.
Robbins will assume the UA presidency June 1, clearing the way for current President Ann Weaver Hart to leave the top job more than a year early while still receiving her $670,000 presidential pay package until June 2018.
As a result, the UA will spend more than $1.6 million on presidential compensation next school year β the combined total for Robbins and Hart.
Hart's presidency was riddled with controversy over her role on the board of the for-profit education firm that runs DeVry University. The private college was subject to lawsuits claiming the school deceived its students.
Hart, who announced that she would resign last year, was given a Regent's Medal Thursday for her tenure at UA.
