President Hitt’s nearly $740,000 salary has just gotten a bit larger.
On Thursday, UCF’s Board of Trustees (BOT) approved a salary increase for President Hitt that will raise his base pay around $26,000, saying that his efforts and time at the University are deserving of the increase.
“We felt it appropriate to recommend that we modestly increase his base salary,” said UCF BOT member John Sprouls, who was one of the members to agree that President Hitt deserved the raise.
SGA President, and Trustee member, Cortez Whatley opposed the increase, saying that the students whose voices he represents don’t agree with the raise in the wake of budget cuts and tuition hikes.
“I think that in the times of our budget cuts and the economic situation…this sends a very, I think, bad message…” he says.
Even Trustee Harris Rosen stated that although Hitt has done a deserving job, the funds should come from private, not public funds.
“These are very, very difficult times the nation is confronted with a fiscal crisis…the public sector is under tremendous duress, if the private sector would step forward and agree to write a check for that increase I would support it enthusiastically,” he told the board.
We tried to talk to President Hitt after the meeting but he refused to comment and quickly left the event center.
An outside source conducted the performance review that aided the board’s decision to approve the raise.
“There was an independent review of Dr. Hitt’s performance that ranked him among the most outstanding presidents in the country,” UCF spokesman Grant Heston told CFnews 13. “And the fact that he had not had a salary increase in six years and that none of this money comes from state funds or tuition played a big part in what the board decided today.”
President Hitt’s base salary was originally at $463,500, a number that does not include bonuses, packages or other incentives, has not been increased in almost six years. In total, Hitt was receiving around $740,000 per year, which put him 9th on the list of highest paid state university presidents.
The new increase will make is base pay $490,000, without bonuses and incentive deals. On top of the raise, President Hitt is expected to receive around $180,000 in bonuses for meeting performance goals.
Several student groups such as SLAP and VOX were at the meeting to protest the raise. Many of them believe that the raise should be given to UCF professors and maintenance laborers, who in their eyes are more deserving.
“The students on campus, the workers on campus, the people who run this campus are in need of that money. Not him,” one organization leader said.
