Richard Corcoran will earn $699,000 annually, a salary that sparked harsh criticism during public comment, which was moved until after the New College Board of Trustees had already approved his hiring.
New College has approximately 700 students, which means Corcoran is earning about $1,000 per student in base salary.
The contract states Corcoran — a Republican who also served as speaker of the Florida House — will hold the job until Sept. 1, 2024 or until a permanent president is chosen.
He replaces former president Patricia Okker, who was fired earlier this month at a meeting of the now majority conservative board of trustees.
She was making $305,000 a year plus compensation for housing and transportation.
Corcoran will receive $84,000 a year in a housing allowance and $12,000 a year for an automobile allowance.
Corcoran's hiring as interim president comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six conservative members to the New College board in January in an effort to overhaul the small liberal arts college in Sarasota.
Debra Jenks, a lawyer from Palm Beach and one of the new DeSantis appointees to the board, called Corcoran “the leader that we need.”
The majority of public comment, which was limited to one minute per speaker, was overwhelmingly against Corcoran's hiring. Several called the interim's president's salary "exorbitant."
