UPDATED 3/3/16 10 P.M. Updated to correct possible percentage increase on Genshaft's contract with bonus offer. The removal of a retention stipend of $100,000 per year that was in her previous contract was not factored into our equation. Taking that removal into account drops the possible increase from 20 percent to 8 percent.
The University of South Florida Board of Trustees is expected to offer System President Judy Genshaft a one year contract extension - with a pay raise - at a Thursday meeting.
Genshaft, who turned 68 in January, is already USF's longest serving president, having held the position since 2000.
The new deal has a base salary of $493,500 a year, a five percent increase from her current deal.
Factor in a discretionary performance bonus, and the total compensation could be as much as $768,500, up as much as 8 percent.
That increase is due in part to the fact that the new contract calls for a performance bonus of up to $275,000 - an increase of $100,000 from the current contract. Genshaft received the full $175,000 bonus allowance in December 2015.
In addition, the USF Foundation could increase its contribution to a deferred compensation annuity from 12 percent of Genshaft's base salary to as much as 20 percent.
She also will receive an almost $1,000 a month auto stipend, as well as dues at the Tampa Palms Country Club and the University Club.
According to a December 2015 report from the Chronicle of Higher Education, Genshaft was the 12th highest paid president at U.S. public universities. However, since that survey was conducted, Genshaft was passed as the highest paid public university president in Florida by W. Kent Fuchs at the University of Florida.
Genshaft's new one-year deal would go into effect July 1st and run through June 30, 2017.
Genshaft's previous three contracts, including the current one, were each for five years.
When asked why the new deal was for one year instead of a longer term, USF Media/Public Affairs Manager Adam Freeman said, "The one year term is consistent with guidance provided by the Board of Governors, which is anticipated to apply to all State University System presidential reappointments."
Genshaft has given no public signs of stepping down anytime soon.
In an interview with the Tampa Tribune in September 2015, she spoke of unfinished plans.
“I’m here,” Genshaft said. “We have so much to accomplish and I’m going to stay. I always believed that the University of South Florida and what I could bring was a good fit, and it was. I’m very, very pleased.”
During Genshaft's tenure, enrollment in the USF System has grown from 35,700 students in 2000 to just under 49,000 in 2015. The average SAT score has climbed from 1072 to 1212, while the graduation rate grew from 46% to 66%.
In addition, research expenditures have ballooned from $186 million to $497 million, while research grants and contracts have increased from $171 million to $440 million.
USF's Unstoppable fund-raising campaign has also brought in over $905 million dollars since it was launched in 2009. It's scheduled to wrap up at the end of June 2018.
The USF Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. Thursday at the USF Marshall Student Center.
