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The University of Minnesota Board of Regents today approved the employment agreement for 

Cunningham’s compensation for the first year, between salary and benefits, will be over a million dollars, putting her in the top quarter of Big Ten leaders.

“It is a market-competitive agreement that speaks to Dr. Cunningham’s skill and experience,” Board chair Janie Mayeron said.

Cunningham will earn a $950,000 base salary, plus $120,000 in retirement contributions after her first year on the job. That amount will increase over the course of the five-year contract.

Cunningham’s compensation for her first year will be about even with what former president Joan Gabel earned in her last year on the job, before she 

Regent Robyn Gulley said it’s a fair negotiation between what Cunningham wanted and what the university could pay.

“I sometimes struggle with these very expensive employment agreements, and also, I feel like there was a lot of care taken for it to be right-sized,” Gulley said. “I appreciate the work that folks did to get this right.”

Cunningham was chosen for the job last month, after a search that lasted nearly a year. She’s coming to Minnesota from the University of Michigan, where she served as vice president for research and innovation. She’s due to start July 1.

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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The University of Minnesota Board of Regents today approved the employment agreement for incoming president Rebecca Cunningham. She’ll earn over $1 million in her first year on the job, putting her in the top quarter of earners among Big Ten heads.

University of Minnesota approves contract, $1 million annual pay for incoming President Cunningham

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