The decision as to whether to raise UCF President John C. Hitt’s salary will be voted on today, Thursday Nov. 15, at the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees meeting.
Expected to be in attendance will be Student Government President, Cortez Whatley, who serves as a member on the board. As such, Whatley will have a vote in determining whether Hitt should receive a base salary raise, which is expected to be around $26,000.
Whatley has taken flak over the past few months after he voted to raise student tuition the maximum amount possible earlier in the year.
Students argue that Hitt should not get a raise, especially in the wake of tuition hikes and budget cuts at UCF. One student expressed his opinion at a recent open forum, stating that Whatley, as someone who voted for tuition hikes, should vote “no” to the proposed salary raise.
“If he is going to sit there and vote to increase President Hitt’s salary that would be a slap in the face to the entire student body,” said Curtis Hierro, a graduate student at UCF.
But others, including UCF Vice President Bill Merck, say that Hitt deserves the salary increase because of his great efforts at UCF.
“You’ve got one of the top presidents in the country here at UCF, Dr. Hitt, I’ve not seen anybody that’s done a better job for their university than he has,” said Merck.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that Hitt’s compensation for the 2011 fiscal year was $741,500, making him the 9th highest paid public college president in the country. The Board of Trustees will report on the assessment of the president’s performance and review his compensation at the meeting. They will then vote on whether to raise his salary.
KnightNews.com plans to send a crew to the meeting to cover the decision along with other topics being covered by the board.
Check back later for more.
