University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart has a new set of goals to meet by 2018 in exchange for up to $190,000 in merit pay.
The Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the stateβs public university system, approved the UA presidentβs three-year performance targets at the boardβs meeting in Tucson on Friday.
Hartβs new goals and associated payments include:
- $20,000 if UA can increase its 80.4 percent freshman retention rate to 83 percent.
- $20,000 for getting the schoolβs fledgling veterinary medicine program up and running at the UAβs newest location in Oro Valley.
- $40,000 for increasing research spending from $602 million to about $636 million.
- $10,000 for increasing total enrollment from about 43,100 to 48,600.
- $10,000 for increasing the number of bachelorβs degrees offered from about 7,000 to 7,800.
- $50,000 extra if Hart meets all eight of her three-year performance targets.
The goals are linked to priorities the Regents approved Thursday to guide the state university system over the next decade.
The merit pay would be on top of Hartβs $665,500 salary package. This year, she received $115,000 extra for meeting goals for the last school year.
The Regents switched a few years ago to a pay system that ties part of presidential compensation to progress made in addressing the boardβs most pressing concerns.
βThese incentives are intended to place a portion of the presidentsβ compensation at risk,β unless they meet assigned goals, a report to the Regents said.
The presidents of Arizonaβs other public universities have similar performance agreements that cover priority achievement areas as those schools.
The Regents approved the presidential incentives without discussion Friday as part of the boardβs consent agenda.
