{"id":126267,"date":"2026-01-21T11:34:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/126267\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T11:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:34:06","slug":"usfs-new-president-could-earn-nearly-2-million-in-first-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/126267\/","title":{"rendered":"USF\u2019s new president could earn nearly $2 million in first year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>The Florida Board of Governors confirmed Moez Limayem as USF\u2019s ninth president in mid-December. ORACLE GRAPHIC\/LUIZA GARCIA. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE\/UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA<\/p>\n

Moez Limayem could rake in one of the heftiest paydays for a Florida public university president after he is inaugurated as USF\u2019s ninth president this spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF offered Limayem a 5-year contract with a $1.25 million base salary after he was confirmed<\/a> as university president by the Florida Board of Governors on Dec. 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF did not provide The Oracle with a signed contract at the time of publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, the contract presented in USF\u2019s presidential search packet shows that, with bonus compensation, Limayem could make just under $1.9 million in his first year.<\/p>\n

USF President Rhea Law, who announced her plans to step down last February, had a total eligible pay of $1.23 million \u2014 over $600,000 below Limayem\u2019s figure.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at Limayem\u2019s proposed contract and how it compares to other university presidents in Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: Board of Governors approves USF\u2019s ninth president<\/a><\/p>\n

Limayem, 63, served as the president of the University of North Florida from 2022 to 2025.<\/p>\n

His tenure at UNF followed a ten-year position as the Lynn Pippenger Dean of USF\u2019s Muma College of Business, which he held from 2012 to 2022.<\/p>\n

Limayem was announced as the university\u2019s sole presidential finalist<\/a> in September after a seven-month search for a new president.<\/p>\n

Then, in October, Limayem was approved<\/a> by USF\u2019s Board of Trustees, which included a compensation package not to exceed $2.4 million per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF outlined three factors in Limayem\u2019s compensation analysis \u2014 the university\u2019s preeminent status, Health Sciences Center and admission into the American Association of Universities<\/a> \u2014 according to USF\u2019s presidential search packet<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF<\/a> gained preeminent status in 2018 through the Florida Preeminence Program<\/a>, which rewards universities for meeting benchmarks such as graduation rates, national rankings and research expenditure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF Health is the top medical school in Florida and a top-16 medical school in the U.S., according to its website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And in 2023, USF joined<\/a> the AAU, a composition of 71 universities<\/a> that lead in academics, research expenditures, faculty awards and research citations, according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related: From USF dean to presidential finalist: A look at Moez Limayem\u2019s career, controversies<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF also used the presidential salaries of three \u201cpeer institutions\u201d to determine Limayem\u2019s compensation \u2014 the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Central Florida.<\/p>\n

These universities serve as benchmarks for their \u201csize, scope and complexity,\u201d according to USF\u2019s presidential search packet<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UF president Donald Landry is the highest-paid public university president in the state, with a base salary of $2 million and $500,000 in potential bonus pay, according to USF\u2019s presidential search packet.<\/p>\n

UCF president Alexander Cartright earns a $1.2 million base salary and is eligible for a $696,000 bonus \u2014 totaling just over $1.89 million, according to USF\u2019s presidential search packet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FSU president Richard McCullough earns a $1.25 million base salary and a possible $500,000 in bonus pay, which totals $1.75 million, according to USF\u2019s presidential search packet.<\/p>\n

Once inaugurated, Limayem will join the presidents of these institutions as one of the highest-paid public university presidents in Florida.<\/p>\n

Related: USF\u2019s presidential finalist outlines vision, goals during campus visit<\/a><\/p>\n

Limayem will also be eligible to earn over three times his UNF salary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was paid a $500,000 base salary at UNF and could earn an additional $99,750 in annual bonus pay, according to his UNF contract<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, at USF, Limayem could earn additional pay up to 50% of his base salary \u2014 for a maximum of $625,000 \u2014\u00a0 through performance-based compensation, according to his contract<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He will also receive an additional $162,000 in benefits, including a $12,000 monthly housing stipend and a $1,500 monthly automobile stipend.<\/p>\n

Limayem will earn a performance bonus through an annual evaluation of his performance based on \u201cgoals and objectives,\u201d according to his contract<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Performance-based compensation will be determined and awarded by USF\u2019s BOT in a special meeting \u201cno later\u201d than Dec. 15 of each year, according to his contract<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The BOT will also annually review Limayem\u2019s base salary when evaluating his job performance and increase it if necessary, according to his contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Limayem earns his full bonus compensation, he would earn $1.87 million in a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have my word that I will lead with transparency, immediately and purpose,\u201d Limayem said after his confirmation<\/a> on Dec. 12. \u201cEvery decision I make will be guided by one question \u2014 what is best for our students, our faculty, staff, our community, our state and our country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Florida Board of Governors confirmed Moez Limayem as USF\u2019s ninth president in mid-December. ORACLE GRAPHIC\/LUIZA GARCIA. PHOTO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-126267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}