The University of Oregon’s board of trustees have approved a bonus for U of O president Mike Schill : $100,000.
Citing strong performance and leadership, Chair Chuck Lillis said the bonus was to make the U of O comparable with similar division schools, and to retain Schill.
"Mike said –and it’s correct- that many other people made attainment of these objectives possible," added Lillis at today's board of trustees meeting.
"So it wasn’t Mike Schill and Schill alone, some of those people are in this room.”
Schill thanked the board and said he’d use much of the bonus to create a scholarship in his late father’s name.
From the U of O Communications Office:
“I am deeply grateful to the Board for the trust they have placed in me as president of the University of Oregon. If they vote to authorize a $100,000 performance bonus as outlined in my employment contract, I intend to create a scholarship in the PathwayOregon program in memory of my father, Simon Schill, who passed away in October. The amount of the scholarship, $75,000, will be equivalent to the scholarship I dedicated to the memory of my mother in 2018. My dad was unable to go to college because of the Great Depression, and he would have been pleased to know that this donation will go toward supporting a vital program that is helping open the doors of opportunity for deserving young Oregonians.”
Through a letter, student trustee Katharine Wishnia said she could not support the bonus. She felt Schill could better address student's needs including "food insecurity, housing, mental health services and low-cost parking options.”
Another dissenting voice was Kurt Wilcox, a former trustee. "“Given the UO’s financial situation this year, the board will be sending absolutely the wrong message to the campus, local and wider community by tossing $100,000 at Schill for simply meeting performance standards,” he said during the opening public comment session.
President Schill’s current annual salary is $720,000.
Copyright 2019, KLCC.
