Kent State President's Bonus Riles Readers

Lester Lefton was awarded a $104,000 bonus this week — on top of his $417,000 salary

Lefton Awarded $104K Bonus by Kent State Trustees

Kent State's eleventh president will mark the start of his eighth year in office this summer

Kent State University President Lester Lefton will receive a performance bonus of $104,450 this summer when his eighth year as president of what is now Ohio's second-largest public university starts. The Kent State Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to award the president the performance bonus, which amounts to 25 percent of his current base salary of $417,799. The bonus is effective July 1. His base salary and bonus excludes deferred compensation, a car allowance and $50,000 annual housing allowance. Jane Timken, chair of the university trustees board, said the board conducted its own evaluation of Lefton's performance this year based on nine goal and metric definitions he suggested, and the board agreed to, earlier this year…

•  40 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Chris (Kit) Myers

9:19 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Well, the esplanade will look nice and the plazas look nice and parents come with their kids to check out the university and they are shown the pretty stuff and they ooh and ahh and never ask about the quality of the faculty or how much they are being paid. They then send their kids here and the university gets their tuition money and money from the state for each student. That's the way it works…   more ›

Lefton gets $102,402 Bonus, Pay Raise

$90,000 longevity bonus also effective July 1; Kent State trustees approve contractual pay awards following 'exhaustive' performance review

Editor's note: this story was updated at 8:30 p.m. June 6, as it initially incorrectly stated Lefton's longevity bonus was $95,000. For the second consecutive year, Kent State University President Lester Lefton's bonus will exceed $100,000 for his performance as head of Ohio's second largest public university. The Kent State University Board of Trustees voted this afternoon to give Lefton a $104,402 bonus. The bonus, which is stipulated in Lefton's contract, is 25 percent of his $409,608 base salary, which includes a 2 percent retroactive pay increase also approved by the board Wednesday. Kent State spokesperson Emily Vincent said in an email after the meeting that Lefton's pay raise is the same raise awarded to all university employees. …

•  16 Comments
• Photos (1)

HalloweenWife

11:43 am on Saturday, July 7, 2012

The fact he gets a housing allowance on top of all the other stuff is what gets me. He can't afford his own housing on nearly half a million? In NEO? Seriously? That $65k could have gone to hiring a new adjunct professor to lighten the load for large classes thus giving students a better education. And yet they raise the tuition again. *shakes head* How is this legal?   more ›

Kent Patch Readers on Kent State Budget Cuts, Lefton's Bonus

Readers are divided over tuition, administrative salaries and higher education funding in Ohio

Higher education — particularly how we pay for it — can be a divisive topic, particularly in college towns like Kent. Last week we explained how Kent State University is bracing for a big cut in state financial support. The story included news about Kent State President Lester Lefton's $100,000 bonus, which was approved one week ago by the university's board of trustees. The story also addressed whether students may see a hike in tuition and fees for the coming semester. Readers responded to all three topics. Here's some of what they had to say: Robin Anderson: "Doc Lefton also got a bonus for his very first year at the University. You know, the year that the University kept Doc Cartwright around as a consultant for an extra year after she…

• Photos (1)