ASU President Michael Crow will get an 8% raise on his base salary, increasing his pay by more than $55,000 to reach just over $770,000. The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) decided unanimously Thursday, taking no questions or comments at its meeting.
Crow also received allowances of $70,000 for housing, $10,000 for transportation and $50,000 for reaching various goals.
UA President Robert Robbins also received an 8% pay increase and allowances, while NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera, who joined the university this summer, did not receive a raise or bonuses.
According to The State Press salary database, in 2020 the highest paid ASU employee was Herm Edwards, the school's head football coach, who made $3.5 million that year, followed by Robert Hurley, the head men's basketball coach and then Raymond Anderson, vice president of University athletics.
In a statement released Friday, ABOR Chair Lyndel Manson said "Our presidents are essentially CEOs of one of the largest and most complex enterprises in the state of Arizona, and it's important that we retain these visionary leaders. These universities are major economic engines in Arizona that deserve no less than top-flight leadership to drive our economy and workforce development forward."
Beginning in September 2019, Crow was scheduled to receive a 3.5% pay increases in his base salary each year, though the regents did not approve the scheduled raise in Fall 2020 due to COVID-19.
Similarly, Crow proposed no tuition increase for the 2021-22 academic year. It was the second consecutive year for no raises for in-state tuition.
Crow is one of the highest paid university administrators in the country, making more than $1 million after taking into account his other pay sources, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The 2022-23 academic year will mark Crow's 20th as University president.
Bonuses for Crow hit $50,000 for achieving goals from 2018 to 2021, including awarding almost 20,000 bachelor's degrees, enrolling more than 110,000 students, awarding almost 12,000 degrees in high-demand fields and increasing graduation rates among student athletes.
According to the Arizona Republic, Crow did not meet goals for freshmen retention or for research spending.
The next set of goals, which Crow could receive anywhere from $30,000 to $35,000 in the next three years, include addressing educational gaps, adding science and technology centers, adaptive learning courses and a global futures laboratory.
In addition to base salary raises, ABOR approved baseball head coach Willie Bloomquist's contract through 2026 with an annual starting salary of $350,000, an increase of $10,000 for each subsequent year and possible bonuses based on the team's performance.
Reach the reporter at pjhanse1@asu.edu and follow @piperjhansen on Twitter.
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Piper Hansen is the digital editor-in-chief at The State Press, overseeing all digital content. Joining SP in Spring 2020, she has covered student government, housing and COVID-19. She has previously written about state politics for The Arizona Republic and the Arizona Capitol Times and covers social justice for Cronkite News.
