The University of Central Florida’s Board of Trustees Compensation and Labor Committee met Wednesday morning to discuss changing Hitt’s contract, performance goals for the institution and performance pay for Hitt and the vice presidents.
Making Hitt abide by a yearly contract instead of his current rolling contract was discussed at the meeting. The contract change is only a suggestion and requires a full vote from the trustees.
UCF spokesman Chad Binette explained that “this is because the Board of Governors prefers one-year contracts for university presidents. Because of the timing of the fiscal year, this term would be through June 30, not a full year. Previously, Dr. Hitt had a rolling contract that was automatically renewed unless either party terminated it.”
At this meeting, Performance Unit Play payments earned for the 2012-15 cycle were approved to move forward at total of $364,239 for Hitt and vice presidents of the university.
The motion moved forward for the PUP plan recommends that university vice presidents receive a total of $206,214 performance pay combined.
The motion also recommends that Hitt receives a total of $158,025 performance pay. Hitt’s base salary is $505,730. This base salary was called “non-competitive” compared to other universities by a UCF consultant.
The final vote for the PUP will take place in November.
It was suggested at the meeting by a UCF board chair to keep Hitt’s pay at the same amount. Instead, he could have an increase in available performance pay, which would result in about a two percent increase in his compensation. The performance pay mentioned in this section would be possible beginning next year.
The committee also conducted an evaluation for Hitt, which was deemed very positive.
“His passion for the University, his concern for educational opportunity and student success, as well as his commitment to the citizens of this region and state remain undiminished,” the consultant’s report said.
The overview of Hitt’s evaluation mentions how enrollment at UCF has increased from 22,000 to over 63,000 students over his 23 years at the university.
“John Hitt has had a profound impact on the University. What the University is, in good measure, is a reflection of his values and decisions,” the overview states.
Hitt’s evaluation also credits him with other factors such as raising UCF’s national profile and making the university recognized as one of the nation’s leading “Innovation” universities by US News and World Report.
It is important to note that the suggestions discussed in this article are not final. All motions require full vote of the trustees and will be decided in upcoming months.
