Georgia Board of Regents votes not to raise pay for college leaders

The Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday not to raise the salaries of the University System of Georgia’s 26 presidents and its chancellor as the system works on a plan to cut its budget to meet state revenue shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

State leaders have given the University System and other agencies a May 20 deadline to submit plans to cut their budgets by as much as 14% for the budget year that begins July 1. For the University System, the cuts amount to $361 million. The board last week gave the University System authority to potentially furlough employees, with those earning higher salaries - including presidents - taking larger cuts. The furlough plan would save the system about $40 million, officials said.

The average base presidential pay in the Georgia system last year was $332,475. Georgia State University President Mark Becker, whose school has the highest enrollment in the state, has the highest annual compensation package of any system president, approximately $1.1 million. Georgia State has about 53,000 students.