The UCF board of directors voted Thursday to extend President Alexander Cartwright’s contract for another year, increasing his salary to more than $1.2 million and awarding him a $270,000 performance bonus.
Cartwright’s contract, which was set to expire in April, now runs until April 12, 2026 and increases his base salary from $750,000 to $900,000. The extension, which was approved unanimously, also increases the president’s potential annual incentive bonus from $300,000 to $375,000, meaning Cartwright could earn up to $1.275 million next year.
Cartwright has served as president of the University of Central Florida since March 2020.
In its evaluation, the board said the president “exceeded expectations” and “excelled in research, performance, strategic partnerships, national recognition and, in particular, new state investment in our institution.”
It also noted that UCF exceeded its 2026-2027 target for patents awarded to faculty members last year.
Several board members said they wanted to extend the president’s contract for more than a year, but noted that a Florida Board of Governors regulation limits presidential contract renewals to one-year terms. The board of directors oversees UCF and Florida’s other eleven public universities.
“Sir. President, you know the administrators are in favor. But hands are tied,” Trustee Danny Gaekwad told Cartwright at the meeting.
The $1.275 million compensation makes Cartwright among the highest-paid presidents in the Florida university system. FSU President Richard McCullough, UF’s Interim President Kent Fuchs and New College of Florida’s President Richard Corcoran will also be paid more than $1 million.
After the board approved his raise, Cartwright said he sees a lot of potential in Florida’s largest university.
“All I want is for this university to be the best it can be,” Cartwright said. “I talk all the time about the potential this university has and the frustrating thing is that you see that potential and we don’t back it up with the performance it can deliver. That’s what I think motivates me most: how can we drive that performance?”
Cartwright could have received a $300,000 bonus this year.
But some administrators, including faculty representative Stephen King, noted that UCF was not meeting some goals, such as improving its four-year graduation rate, and that was grounds for supporting a bonus that was lower than the maximum. UCF’s four-year graduation rate is 54%, with a goal of reaching 65%, according to the university’s 2024 accountability plan.
However, Gaekwad said that if the board did not give Cartwright the full bonus, it would shortchange him by $30,000 and “cheat” him psychologically.
Trustee Joseph Conte joked that $30,000 was “just a weekend in Miami” for the president and that he supported giving him the most.
The UCF board ultimately voted in favor of the $270,000 bonus, with only Gaekwad dissenting.
