University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue got a pay raise Tuesday, with regents approving a plan to increase his salary by $50,000 to $572,500. File photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue is getting a raise.
The Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $50,000 pay raise for the former Georgia governor and U.S. agriculture secretary, bringing Perdue’s pay up to $572,500.
The pay hike will go into effect next month.
How university heads in other neighboring states stack up
University of Alabama System Chancellor Sid Trant takes home $884,716 after a 36% increase from his pay as interim chancellor approved in the spring, according to AL.com.
Peter Hans, University of North Carolina System president, also got a big raise this year, according to the News & Observer, going from about $455,000 to $600,000 on June 1.
Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, has a salary of $441,252, while Michael Amiridis of the University of South Carolina system makes $352,184, according to state data.
Randy Boyd, University of Tennessee System president, who is independently wealthy, takes no salary but reportedly accepts a $10,000 stipend to cover health insurance costs.
In a statement after the vote, Board of Regents Chairman T. Dallas Smith likened the raise to merit and market-based pay increases available to other university system employees.
“As chairman, I know the Board of Regents takes seriously its responsibility to serve students, campuses and the public while ensuring careful stewardship of state resources,” he said. “While today’s decision applies specifically to the chancellor, USG has also worked with institutions to provide limited merit increases and market-based adjustments for eligible employees. This reflects USG’s ongoing commitment to responsibly rewarding and retaining the leaders, faculty and staff who make the system one of the nation’s best.”
Perdue, 78, was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022. Between the fall semesters of 2022 and 2024, the system touted a 9% enrollment increase to nearly 365,000 students. The system also boasts that it contributed $23.1 billion to the state’s economy during the last school year, up more than 5% from the year before, and that University System of Georgia graduates earn about $1.4 million more over a lifetime than they would without a bachelor’s degree.
Perdue’s time in office has also seen controversy.
His lack of an academic background led some to call his appointment a political move, and questions about political interference in higher education have followed him. This year, Perdue raised the hackles of some students and faculty by expressing skepticism toward online classes despite a USG study that did not show much difference in academic outcomes between online and face-to-face classes, and by mandating employees return to full-time in-person work.
A requirement for professors to publish their syllabi online, which passed in May and began rolling out with the start of the new semester, has also raised cries of political interference, with opponents arguing the policy allows activists to harass and dox professors over ideological differences.
According to data compiled by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, Perdue’s salary in fiscal year 2024 was $531,900, which made him one the top-earning state employees in Georgia.
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