UNC President Margaret Spellings will get a $95,000 bonus

UNC President Margaret Spellings was awarded a $95,000 performance bonus Friday by the UNC Board of Governors following her annual review.

The bonus will be split, with $50,000 to be paid in cash and $45,000 to be paid into a retirement account for Spellings, said Lou Bissette, chairman of the board. He said the amount was decided after the board's presidential assessment committee concluded Spellings had met or exceeded expectations.

The vote by the board, at its meeting at UNC Wilmington, occurred after a closed session discussion that lasted more than two and a half hours. Three board members dissented on the bonus — former state legislators Thom Goolsby and Robert Rucho, and Tom Fetzer.

After the vote, Fetzer explained why he voted against the bonus.

"I don't think it was warranted," he said. "At a base salary of $775,000, I think the tax paying citizens of North Carolina ought to be able to expect excellence in performance without having to add on a hundred grand a year. Also, if we're serious about controlling the costs of higher education, this doesn't help us achieve that."

Spellings received a $90,000 bonus last March. At that point, the board said her future incentive pay could rise up to $125,000 annually.

The bonus comes at Spellings' two-year anniversary leading the 17-campus public university system. She was hired in 2016 with a base salary of $775,000 and a five-year contract. At the time, the system described her salary as "highly competitive for public higher education executive talent." Her predecessor, Tom Ross, was paid $600,000.

She thanked the board after its vote.

She is the first UNC president to have an incentive bonus as part of her compensation package.

This week, Spellings started on a statewide tour, where she is giving "State of the University" speeches at eight stops across North Carolina. She spoke in Charlotte and Wilmington this week, focusing on the university system's strategic plan, which aims to educate more low-income and rural students, improve graduation rates and make an economic impact on North Carolina.

"Success will demand a statewide push to create a college-going culture, a culture of accountability where priority is placed on extending opportunity for all, and advancing the public values we all share," Spellings said Friday.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 1:40 PM with the headline "UNC President Margaret Spellings will get a $95,000 bonus."