As part of the extended contract, Gold will no longer be eligible for a 15% merit bonus. Instead, if there is a system-wide merit raise pool available, Gold will receive the same average salary increase as other NU employees.
Gold has rejected his performance-based pay in the past, instead investing the money back into the university.
Two regents voted against the extension because of the timing of the vote, with the board set to have three new regents in January after November’s election.
Regent Joel Makovicka, who is temporarily filling the District 4 seat after former regent Elizabeth O’Connor resigned, was one of the two regents to vote no.
“I think we’ve just gotten into, where we extend contracts a little too early,” Makovicka said. “I think this should be a decision of the board in 2027 or 2028.”
Regent Jack Stark, representing District 2 that is up for election next month, also voted no. He said his vote was not a personnel one, but a policy one.
“I don’t like passing things that other people will have to work with,” Stark said. “The number one duty of a regent is to select your president, so I have some concerns about this at this time, otherwise, I’d be fine. If we would wait another six months, while you get a chance to work with people, break in the new people, it’d be different.”
The third seat up for election is District 1, representing part of Lancaster County, including Lincoln. Tim Clare, who has held that seat for 18 years and is not running for reelection, ultimately voted yes on the extension, but he urged the board to communicate better.
“December is my last meeting,” Clare said. “I would just encourage our board to do a better job of communicating, better job of talking with all of us, not just five to get the vote approved, but talking to all of us about this process and communicating with all of us.”
Other regents voting yes pointed to Gold’s performance in the role since he came on in 2024. Scheer said he doesn’t want to see the university president move on to another institution.
“The real question is: Has the president done the job? The answer is yes,” Scheer said. “Has the president done and gone above and beyond for the last two and a half years? And the answer is yes. Has he accomplished more than I ever thought we’d be accomplished within the six-year or the five-year contract that we offered him to begin with? Yes, indeed.”
Regent Paul Kenney said he’s proud to see this contract extension.
“I am thrilled that we’re in position to extend Dr. Gold’s tenure in Nebraska at this time, when shortened tenures for university leaders are more and more the norm,” Kenney said. “This is no doubt, in my mind, an accomplishment.”
The next regularly scheduled meeting for the Board of Regents is Dec. 4 at Varner Hall in Lincoln.
Source: nebraskapublicmedia.org
