MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 on Feb. 26, 2024.
Incoming University of Minnesota President Dr. Rebecca Cunningham will earn almost $1 million per year over five years, as stated in her contract approved by the university's Board of Regents in a meeting Friday.
The board unanimously pushed the contract through, as several regents went on to share their support for the U's new leader.
"President-Designate Cunningham is the right leader to help us write the University of Minnesota's next chapter," said Chair Janie Mayeron.
The contract includes a starting base salary of $975,000, which Mayeron said will put Cunningham in the 75th percentile of earners across the Big Ten and other leading universities. The terms were decided based on the Regents' "guiding principles," including competitive, fair and equitable compensation.
"It is a market-competitive agreement that speaks to Dr. Cunningham's skill and experience," Mayeron said.
To prepare the employment agreement, Mayeron said board leadership worked closely with its general counsel, while several other regents praised Cunningham for helping to quickly make the deal.
"I'd be remiss if I also didn't thank Dr. Cunningham, President-Designate Cunningham, for working so quickly with the university teams so that we could have an agreement at this regularly scheduled board meeting," said Regent Kodi Verhalen.
"I really appreciate the work by our general counsel's office, by you, Chair Mayeron, in negotiating this... Just very swift work is really appreciated to dot all the Is, cross all the Ts and move this forward."
Cunningham was named president-designate on Feb. 26, making her the university's 18th person to hold the position. She is currently the vice president for research and innovation at the University of Michigan, where she's served on the faculty of the University of Michigan's Schools of Public Health and Medicine since 1999.
In February, the board selected Cunningham by a 12-0 vote, besting fellow finalists Dr. Laura Bloomberg, the current president of Cleveland State University, and Dr. James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico.
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