After years of negotiating contracts for professional golfers, R.J. Nemer has inked his own lucrative deal as University of Akron president.
The sports agent turned university leader, whose tenure began in May, will enjoy an annual base salary of at least $484,500 during his four-year contract, which runs through 2028. The Board of Trustees can raise his compensation, but cannot lower it. Additionally, Nemer will receive $50,000 annually in a deferred compensation retirement plan.
The Board of Trustees approved the contract at its Wednesday meeting. The university also announced enrollment is down slightly from 2023 — with 14,813 students enrolled across undergraduate, graduate and law programs. This comes as the University of Akron is expected to carry a $27 million deficit this year, according to a budget approved by the Board of Trustees on Wednesday.
Nemer, who has a wealth of business experience and success, was hired expeditiously by the university after serving as dean of the College of Business for about two years. He took over after former President Gary Miller was pushed into retirement, according to a Signal Akron reporting series. Both men are currently on the university payroll — in total, their payroll and retirement benefits cost the university well over $1 million.
Miller, who was relieved of all university duties on May 13, was paid $484,500 in exit compensation, plus a $170,000 university-funded contribution to his retirement fund. In total, the university will spend about $1.2 million in compensation and retirement contributions this year for Nemer and Miller.
Nemer will be subject to annual board evaluations beginning in 2025. He will also be evaluated by the university’s shared governance groups beginning in 2026.
The university can terminate Nemer’s contract without cause with three months written notice. Nemer, meanwhile, must provide the board six months written notice before resigning.
Being a university president has its fringe benefits. Nemer’s contract includes:
- Catering and housekeeping services when hosting university events at his residence
- A monthly $1,000 vehicle allowance
- Business class air travel for university business
- A country club membership for his family
- An entertainment budget
- Furnishing of a home office at his private residence
Enrollment drops slightly across university
Increasing the university’s competitiveness in the higher education marketplace has been an early point of emphasis for Nemer. It’s too early in his tenure to say whether this emphasis has paid off, but the university did not experience an increase in first-year freshmen enrollment in 2024.
In 2024, the university had 2,055 new freshmen, a decrease of 85 students from the 2,140 new freshmen in 2023. Overall, the university has 14,813 students in 2024, a drop from 14,995.
Two statistics that may speak to the university’s uptick in competitiveness are the numbers of transfer students and graduate students at Akron. The University of Akron saw an increase of 69 transfer students in 2024, for a total of 518 on campus. Overall, graduate student enrollment increased by 146 students from 2023, for a total of 1,781 in 2024.
Enrollment may be stabilizing at the University of Akron, but it’s down precipitously from the high-water mark of 29,251 total students in 2010.
University of Akron still carrying hefty deficit in new budget forecast
The University of Akron is expected to carry a $27 million deficit this year, according to a budget approved by the Board of Trustees on Wednesday.
Overall, the university expects to generate $238,728,000 in revenue, with more than $130 million of that coming from student tuition. The lion’s share of university expenses comes from payroll and benefits, which are expected to total over $183 million.
A major deficit the university is expecting to subsidize is the athletics programs. Across all sports, the university is expecting to generate about $9.8 million in revenue, which falls far short of the program’s expected $27 million in expenditures. Athletics are expected to operate at a loss of over $17 million.
Another area of declining dollars the university is expecting is the state share of instruction. Overall, the state decreased its contribution to the University of Akron by $5.1 million.