Here’s a look at the contract for USF’s next president. It was unanimously approved Thursday

Steven Currall will serve the University of South Florida as its seventh president, starting with a five-year contract and a base salary of $575,000.

The search committee narrowed a list of more than 30 applicants, and USF’s Board of Trustees chose Currall, a university leader in Texas, from the list of four finalists. He still faced confirmation by the state’s Board of Governors on Thursday.

Its 17 members oversee Florida’s university system, and they voted unanimously to approve the contract. With the board’s final blessing, Currall is free to lead USF’s three campuses — Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee — from July 1 until June 30, 2024.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be a new member of the USF community,” he said at Thursday’s meeting.

Along with the base salary of $575,000, USF’s incoming president is entitled to:

• A one-time payment of $100,000 for his move from Texas to Tampa.
• Annual performance pay of up to $275,000.
• An annual vehicle allowance of $12,000.
• A yearly housing allowance of $84,000, unless he chooses to live in the on-campus Lifsey House.
• An additional payment in the form of a deferred compensation plan, equal to 20 percent of his base salary.
• Twelve months of professional development leave at the conclusion of his presidency, equal to his base salary and benefits.

“The professional development leave is to permit Dr. Currall to retool for a regular, full-time faculty assignment,” the contract states.

The leave payments would halt if Currall accepted full-time employment outside of USF after his presidency. At the end of his 12-month development leave, he could remain with the university as a tenured faculty member.

Currall, the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Southern Methodist University, will replace USF’s longtime president, Judy Genshaft, who held the position for nearly two decades.

“I’m humbled and excited about the prospect of continuing the extraordinary momentum of President Judy Genshaft,” Currall said.

He will take the helm just one year before USF’s consolidation deadline, when the university’s three campuses will combine under one accreditation. He will inevitably face questions from staff and students about their campuses’ funding, autonomy and structure under the new plan.

Speaking at Thursday’s confirmation meeting, Currall said he would strike a balance between the needs of each campus and the unified vision of USF.

University leaders highlighted his work at several campuses in the Association of American Universities, an invite-only group of prominent research institutions in the U.S. and Canada — a group that USF hopes to join.

And as a research university, USF was intrigued by Currall’s ability to earn more than $21 million in research grants over his career.

“After a thorough national search process, Dr. Currall truly stood out as someone who has everything we’re looking for at the University of South Florida,” Les Muma, chair of the presidential search committee, said in a past statement.

“I’m very confident he’s the right person to lead our university into the future.”

This story was originally published March 28, 2019 at 1:54 PM.