By Courtney Tanner | The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo by Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah’s public college and university presidents will soon be eligible for major bonuses in addition to their already competitive — and often criticized — salaries.

A new program from the Utah Board of Higher Education is set to offer school leaders up to 10% of their base pay in extra money if they meet certain metrics.

That will mean the state’s highest paid university president — Taylor Randall at the University of Utah, who also runs an adjoining hospital — will be able to make just shy of $1 million now annually based on his leadership role. And the seven other public school presidents won’t be too far behind, which each able to make an additional five-figures on top of their salaries.

“We’re sensitive to it. It is a lot of money,” said Utah’s higher education Commissioner Geoff Landward. “It is also such an incredibly challenging job.”

Landward, too, will be eligible for the bonus program. His base salary falls on the higher end among the presidents, at $450,000. That would mean he could earn a bonus of $45,000 a year, making his total pay surpass half a million dollars (not counting benefits, like health and retirement earnings).

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.