UGA's President Michael Adams Gets $50K Raise

A $50,000 raise? In these troubled economic times?

Apparently so, if you’re the president of the University of Georgia and the longest sitting president among the state’s research institutions. He's been in office since Bill Clinton was on his second term.

The Board of Regents has decided to give President Michael Adams an additional $50,000 for his compensation package. This brings his total salary for next year to $660,318, according to a story in the Athens Banner-Herald. He’s the highest paid president in the state system.

The $50K isn’t being paid out of funds from tuition or tax money. It’s coming from the University of Georgia Athletic Association, the non-profit that runs the UGA football, basketball, baseball and other NCAA sports programs.

The association negotiated a new lease agreement to use Sanford Stadium and other athletic facilities on the UGA campus. In years past, the association has helped pay for costs incurred by the Georgia Redcoat Band, or covered Adams’s fundraising costs or helped pay for upkeep on the university’s facilities.

Now, however, the association will also contribute to Adams' salary. It won't pay into the UGA One Diversity Scholarship Fund. 

Most state employees haven’t seen a raise in years.  The Regents cited a multitude of reasons for giving Adams one, including providing him with an incentive to stay at UGA for a $1 billion fundraising campaign.