TALLAHASSEE — He’s not a finalist for the permanent University of Florida presidency, but getting snubbed isn’t all that bad for Donald Landry.
Thanks to an unusual clause in his one-year contract, UF owes Landry, the school’s interim leader since September, a severance payment worth $2 million. That’s on top of his $2 million base salary and up to $500,000 in performance bonuses, pushing the total maximum compensation for his eight-month tenure to $4.5 million — an extraordinary payout even by the standards of big-time university leadership.
UF announced Monday that Landry, a 72-year-old biomedical scientist, was not a finalist in its latest presidential search. The lone candidate for the job is former University of Alabama President Stuart Bell.
Landry’s contract guaranteed the payout if he was not selected as the university’s permanent president. According to the agreement, public money cannot fund the severance payment. Florida law caps the state-funded portion of college presidents’ salaries at $200,000; the remainder of the tab is typically picked up by donors.
Landry, reached through a university spokesperson, did not respond for comment. The spokesperson, Steve Orlando, could not immediately answer whether donor money would fund Landry’s severance package.
The arrangement stands out even in an era of escalating compensation packages for top university executives, particularly because the $2 million separation payment is likely to be funded through private donations rather than state dollars.
Landry’s substantial golden parachute is likely to draw scrutiny from lawmakers and higher education watchdogs as Florida Republicans continue to push universities to demonstrate tighter oversight of spending and administration costs.
The highest-earning public college president is currently Renu Khator, who pulls down nearly $3.2 million annually at University of Houston, according to a recent analysis by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Landry, a former chairperson of Columbia University’s Department of Medicine, stepped into the interim role during a politically turbulent period for Florida higher education, as Gov. Ron DeSantis and allies reshaped university governance and sought more ideological alignment from campus leaders. DeSantis personally recruited Landry as a stopgap president last summer.
UF has not publicly detailed whether Landry met benchmarks that would qualify him for the additional $500,000 in bonuses. A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday about how much of the compensation package will ultimately be paid.
UF’s Board of Trustees approved a $3 million annual pay package for the incoming president in February. Bell, the sole finalist, earned $775,842 at University of Alabama as of July 2024, according to AL.com. He stepped down as Alabama’s president last year after a decade in the position.
Bell is expected to participate in public forums on campus before UF trustees vote on whether to formally offer him the presidency. If trustees approve Bell’s nomination, it heads to the State University System’s Board of Governors for a final vote.
