UNC System president pulls in largest bonus yet. It’s bigger than his base salary

The UNC System president has a large bonus coming his way — more than doubling the compensation he’d receive from his base salary alone.

The UNC Board of Governors approved a $475,200 bonus for UNC System President Peter Hans, which would be paid to his retirement program account.

His position’s annual base salary is $424,350, UNC System spokesperson Andy Wallace said in an email.

With a base salary considered low by former UNC system presidents’ standards, Hans had asked the board for bonus incentives to be incorporated into his contract when he entered the position in 2020. That contract extended potential performance bonuses for Hans up to $600,000, depending on several metrics like graduation rates and college affordability.

Margaret Spellings and Bill Roper, who both served as UNC system presidents before Hans, had a much higher base salary. They were paid a $775,000 base salary with around $100,000 in potential bonuses.

The UNC presidential assessment committee plays a large role in determining how high Hans’ bonus could be, as it conducts annual performance checks for the system president. The committee met June 6 to assess the president’s performance.

Prior to his role as UNC system president, Hans was the North Carolina Community College system president for two years. Hans also held positions on the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges and UNC Board of Governors.

Now in his third year, Hans’ bonus incentives have continued to grow. His first bonus, awarded to him in November 2021, was $300,000.

Last year, he received a $451,200 bonus — making this year a $24,000 increase.

Reasons for UNC System president’s $475,200 bonus

Student aid, mental health resources and diversity of thought all came up in Wednesday’s board meeting as reasons for Hans’ increased bonus. The board’s chair, Randy Ramsey, sang Hans’ praises for his leadership performance, saying it took “discipline, humility and a whole lot of patience and hard work.”

Hans’ ability to traverse North Carolina’s political landscape scored the president major points with Ramsey, who said he’s won the confidence of state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Hans “successfully advocated” for legislative budget priorities this year — despite the North Carolina legislature not yet settling on a budget — and created a culture across UNC campuses that would welcome all students, Ramsey said.

“We’ve taken action to promote open discourse and protect diversity among all students, faculty and staff,” Ramsey said in the meeting.

Diversity has become a major topic of discussion on UNC campuses in light of several recent developments, including a Board of Governors policy barring “compelled speech” and the progress of a new School of Civic Life and Leadership on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus.

Earlier this year, the board issued guidelines that bans the university system from asking job applicants to discuss their beliefs on “matters of contemporary political debate or social action.” The guidelines have led to a prohibition on asking for diversity, equity and inclusion statements from people seeking employment at UNC-Chapel Hill. Some critics of the policy worried it would lead to self-censorship in the hiring process.

The School of Civic Life and Leadership’s creation at UNC-Chapel Hill, which was approved in a UNC Board of Trustees resolution in January, is in motion with the hopes of courses being offered next spring, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in May. The school is meant to expand on UNC’s Program for Public Discourse that some have criticized for having a conservative sway.

Ramsey credited Hans for leadership navigating the “complex and confusing issue” of state and federal student aid by streamlining UNC scholarship programs to help more families pay for college.

At UNC-Chapel Hill, Guskiewicz announced this month that the university would provide free tuition for incoming undergraduates who have less than an $80,000 family income. The announcement followed the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down affirmative action programs in college admissions, and the timing of Guskiewicz’s announcement received some backlash from Board of Governors members for lack of communication.

Competitive salaries for police officers at UNC and the expansion of mental health resources were two other examples Ramsey used to demonstrate Hans’ “terrific job.”

‘Not an easy time’ to be UNC system president

Despite expressing confidence in the system president’s performance, Ramsey and Hans said more people are losing trust in higher education.

“This is not an easy time to lead a university system,” Ramsey said in the meeting.

The board cited a July 11 Gallup poll showing 36% of Americans were confident in higher education. The low percentage marked a sharp decline from 2015, when 57% of Americans were confident in the country’s higher education systems. Confidence was lower among Republicans, whose expressed confidence in higher education dropped 20% from 2018 to 2023, according to the poll.

While Gallup did not ask participants the reasons behind their lack of confidence, the polling analytics company guessed the rising cost of college education was a likely cause.