The University of South Florida System Board of Trustees on Thursday awarded President Judy Genshaft a $263,175 performance bonus.
It reflects the board’s nearly perfect approval ratings of Genshaft's leadership in 2016-17, where she oversaw a system of campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.
Genshaft, who has been USF president since 2000, also receives a base salary of $493,500.
The evaluation of Genshaft’s performance looked at four key goals: research; revenue generating funds including fundraising; student success and strategic initiatives.
A governance committee recommended that Genshaft’s performance should earn her 96 percent of her bonus. The successful "Unstoppable" campaign that recently announced $1 billion in fundraising, and USF reaching the top tier in state performance funding were among the accomplishments cited as being reached in the past year.
Trustee and committee chairman Jordan Zimmerman says what was most impressive to him was USF's national leadership in reducing achievement gaps between black and white students.
Earlier this year, an Education Trust report rated USF No. 1 in Florida and sixth in the nation for reducing the college completion gap between black and white students.
“All students should have the ability to earn a great degree, to get a degree when they leave here, to get the best job they can possibly get in a career that they dreamed about,” Zimmerman said.
Board Chairman Brian Lamb said he also rated Genshaft on her success in building relationships with lawmakers, higher education leaders in Florida, and with the community, rated her performance at 95 percent.
Lamb says while Genshaft is incredibly successful, the bonus also is a challenge to keep going.
“I think it includes and considers the opportunities for us to go from good to great in several areas,” Lamb said.
