President Gets ‘Golden Handcuff’ UW’s Mccormick Offered $600,000 Incentive Package

University of Washington President Richard McCormick could receive an incentive package worth more than $600,000 if he stays on the job for 15 years.

The offer by UW regents dubbed a “golden handcuff” - came during a glowing evaluation Friday of McCormick’s first year on the job. The package is expected to be approved by regents next month, and would be paid for by private donations.

The university also announced plans for a statewide campaign this fall to increase public support for higher education, with McCormick as the point man.

“I’d love to see Dr. McCormick here for a long, long time,” said regent Scott Oki, who proposed the deferred compensation plan.

McCormick, who is paid $195,000 a year, said he hoped to stay “just as long as Bill Gerberding was and Charles Odegaard was before him,” referring to two former UW presidents who each served at least 15 years.

Oki called McCormick “a wonderful gift to the University of Washington,” commending him for his openness, willingness to listen, strong leadership and emphasis on planning.

Under Oki’s proposal, the UW would place $30,000 in a fund each year McCormick remains as president, up to 15 years. Interest on the money, which would come from the UW’s private endowment income, would grow at 4 percent per year.

In 1989, UW regents started a similar program for Gerberding, using private endowment income. The university contributed $25,000 a year for the first three years, then doubled that amount.

UW regents Jon Runstad and Samuel Stroum said the type of package the board will offer McCormick is not unusual in private business.

Oki offered the deferred compensation plan in lieu of giving McCormick a pay raise. The regents won’t discuss increasing McCormick’s salary until they learn whether the Legislature next year will grant pay raises for faculty, he said.

McCormick said he was gratified at the board’s compensation plans, and agreed he should not receive a pay raise now because “no one else is getting one” at the UW.

McCormick told the regents that during his first year he tried to create partnerships with other universities, made a special effort to meet public officials and launched a number of studies on how the UW could better promote academic excellence and serve the public.

To boost public support for higher education, the UW will hire a research firm to study public attitudes about higher education, give legislators more information about how the university is spending public money, and make more personal contacts.