The UF Board of Trustees unanimously voted at a meeting Monday to pay UF’s next president up to $3 million per year.
Lyn Harper, a representative of Mercer, attributed the compensation to rising presidential salaries and high turnover rates. Mercer, a consulting firm hired by the university, also crafted UF’s presidential pay during last year’s search.
Current UF interim president Donald Landry works under a $2 million base salary, not including bonuses up to an additional $500,000.
Prior to Landry, Ben Sasse was hired as UF’s president under a $10 million contract over five years. Following his abrupt resignation in 2024, Sasse continues to make $1 million annually as a UF professor.
Sasse’s predecessor, Kent Fuchs, had a $1.1 million base salary. Fuchs filled in as interim president after Sasse stepped down and made $1 million annually for his single year in the role.
Harper said comparisons to other state universities set the tone for Mercer’s recommendation. Florida State University is currently paying its president $2.5 million, Harper said. She added the University of Miami paid its recent president $2.3 million, the University of South Florida approved a package of $1.9 million for its new president and Florida International University paid its president $1.6 million last year.
Victoria Antolini, a Korn Ferry employee, the firm hired for UF’s current presidential search, agreed with Mercer’s report.
Last year’s presidential search brought in six presidents from the Association of American Universities as potential candidates, said Chair Morteza “Mori” Hosseini.
Some of those candidates are still interested in the role, Hosseini said, but are currently “really concerned about coming out.”
“They don’t want to do it until and when it gets very close,” he said. “It’s something Rahul [Patel] and the search committee has to work through.”
The board also unanimously approved a marketing plan to assist with identifying potential candidates. Rahul Patel, the vice chair of the UF Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search committee, presented the plan.
The plan focuses on the university’s accomplishments, statistics and rankings, Patel said. Advertising will also include criteria and qualifications for candidates, and will be shown in publications related to UF’s higher education ranking.
A series of construction and renovation-related proposals were also discussed at the meeting, including the Lemerand Athletics Center Renovation Project and a plan to select developers for UF’s Jacksonville Campus.
The Lemerand Athletics Center Renovation Project includes renovation and partial demolition of the facility, and it has a total project budget of $30 million. Renovations include a relocation of the weight room, currently located in the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium South Endzone, to the Lemerand Athletics Center.
State and local leaders, along with university donors, granted UF $300 million to finance campus development in Jacksonville. The plan requires UF to select a developer to complete design work and pre-construction for the initial project. Students are expected to start attending campus this August, according to Kurt Dudas, the vice president for UF’s Office for Strategic Initiatives.
Both proposals were unanimously approved by the board.
The next UF Board of Trustees meeting is June 11.
Contact Leona Masangkay at lmasangkay@alligator.org. Follow them on X @leo_amasangkay.
Leona is a second-year journalism student and the Spring 2025 University Administration reporter. They previously worked as the Santa Fe reporter. In their free time, Leona enjoys going to the gym, watching Marvel movies and traveling the country for music festivals.
