After one year on the job, University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler has impressed the Board of Regents with his work, and they wanted to reward him with a 3% raise.
That would be an extra $18,300 on top of his $610,000 salary.
But Kaler said no.
According to the university’s news department:
President Kaler thanked the Board for its confidence, but requested his compensation not be changed, but instead that the Chair’s recommended 3 percent salary increase be dedicated to undergraduate scholarships. The Board unanimously approved a motion that will dedicate approximately $18,300 to the university’s general scholarship fund.
In proposing the raise, Board of Regents Chair Linda A. Cohen praised Kaler’s freshman year on the job:
“He is an outstanding and highly skilled leader who inspires others to strive for excellence.
“The Board has worked hard to balance two competing objectives. We want to be extremely prudent and use restraint with university dollars. Given President Kaler’s superior performance, we also want to give him a salary increase, which shows the Board’s support for his work and the confidence that the Board has in his leadership.”
Kaler declined the raise before the regents voted and, instead of the raise, received a round of applause.
