UA president’s contract extended by 2 years

University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen will remain at the helm of the state's public university system until at least August 2022 after the UA Board of Regents voted Thursday to extend his contract by two years.

Johnsen's current annual base salary of $325,000 and his annual performance bonus of up to $75,000 will remain intact until Aug. 10, 2020. Johnsen and the regents will later negotiate his compensation for the following years, according to the amended contract.

[University of Alaska regents approve budget request that relies on higher tuition costs, more state money]

In 2015-16, the average pay among public-college presidents nationwide who served the whole year was about $521,0000, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, a publication that specializes in news for college faculty and administrators.

Johnsen, 60, took over as the UA president in August 2015. He had most recently worked as the senior vice president at Alaska Communications.

In the regent's unanimous vote Thursday to amend Johnsen's contract, they also agreed to keep him on a rolling five-year contract.

Every year, starting in August 2018, Johnsen's contract will be automatically extended for one additional year until he or the regents decide to stop the extensions.

Gloria O'Neill, chair of the board of regents, said the contract extension would give Johnsen time to complete "strategic goals," including increasing enrollment.

On Thursday, regents also approved tuition increases and operating and capital budget requests for next academic year.