University president’s pay rises to $524,000 a year

She also has use of a
university-owned condo
and a $1,250-a-month car allowance.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cash earnings for University of Cincinnati President Nancy Zimpher will increase to about $524,000 a year.

University trustees on Tuesday approved an 8 percent salary increase in Zimpher’s base salary to $410,577 and a 30 percent, one-time bonus over her current base that will total $114,047.

That increase comes on top of the $380,164 rate that trustees approved when they extended her contract through 2012 in March.

Zimpher did not accept the March raise, saying then that the school’s financial future was uncertain. The university slashed $27 million from its budget this year.

But Zimpher, who currently earns $343,000 a year, said Tuesday that she would take this latest raise.

“I think what we are proving is that we can turn challenges into opportunities, and you can’t do that alone,” she said.

The university reached a preliminary deal earlier this month with its largest union on an 8.5 percent salary increase over three years. Union officials declined to comment on Zimpher’s salary.

Other benefits

Zimpher’s other benefits include a university-owned condominium and a $1,250 monthly car allowance. The UC president’s husband, Ken Howey, also is employed as a non-tenure-track faculty member teaching education.

“This compensation package is intended to be a reward and a recognition for outstanding performance,” said trustee vice chairman Buck Niehoff. “Make no mistake about that.”

Zimpher became UC’s first female president in 2003. Trustees have credited her with raising the school’s academic profile and building enrollment and donor support.