In what he called a symbolic gesture, President Michael Crow will give his $60,000 performance bonus to a financial-aid fund to help students pay for increased tuition in fall 2009, according to a statement released Tuesday.
Crow received the bonus for achieving performance goals established by the Arizona Board of Regents. His contract offers $10,000 for each performance goal that the University meets during the term of the contract.
"Accessibility to the University has always been a priority for me, and student financial aid is a part of this," Crow said. "I wanted to do my part to help meet the current budget problem."
These goals include increasing diversity among ASU’s resident freshmen, exceeding $220 million in research expenditures, increasing the graduation rate of community college transfer students and attaining at least the 120th rank in the annual U.S. News and World Report ranking.
The University met these goals and two others by June 30, according to the statement.
James Rund, ASU's vice president for University Student Initiatives, will coordinate how the awards are distributed to students and what the awards are used for.
The announcement that Crow will give this money to financial aid comes as the Arizona Board of Regents is set to vote on a plan that could increase tuition by 5 percent for current students and 10.9 percent for new in-state undergraduates.
In a meeting with The State Press editorial board on Nov. 21, Crow called the contribution a great symbolic gesture but added that it won’t come close to solving the University’s budget crunch — caused in part by state funding cuts that total about $60 million.
“I’m going to do it because I think that it’s important for us all to pitch in, but that’s not the way that you save the day,” he said.
Reach the reporter at adam.sneed@asu.edu.
