UNM President Gets Nearly $1M Pay

The University of New Mexico’s new president will start with an $850,000 base salary and can make as much as $950,000 in his first year under a contract signed on May 22. Steve Goldstein, selected by the Board of Regents on May 15 as UNM’s 24th president, will take office on July 15 and serve through June 30, 2031. The pay package has drawn attention because UNM is a public flagship university and because the total approaches seven figures once incentives are included. Regents said the compensation is in line with peer research universities and reflects Goldstein’s background in academic medicine. ### How much is Steve Goldstein set to make? Steve Goldstein’s contract sets his annual base salary at $850,000, according to reporting by the Albuquerque Journal. Goldstein is also eligible for an annual performance bonus of up to $100,000, which would bring his first-year compensation to $950,000 if the Board of Regents approves the full amount. The five-year deal also includes annual raises of $25,000, the Journal reported. Under that schedule, Goldstein’s base salary would rise to $950,000 in the final year of the contract. ### How does that compare with the outgoing president’s pay? Garnett Stokes, who is retiring this summer after more than eight years as president, currently receives a base salary of $660,539 plus two deferred-compensation payments of $100,000 each, for total compensation of $860,539, the Albuquerque Journal reported. That means Goldstein’s guaranteed base pay is higher than Stokes’ salary, while his first-year total could exceed her overall compensation if he receives the full bonus. UNM has said Stokes is the university’s longest-serving president in nearly three decades and the first woman to hold the job. The Board of Regents named Goldstein as her successor after a national search that included five finalists and public campus forums. ### Why did regents say the package was set at that level? The UNM Board of Regents said in a statement that Goldstein’s compensation is “competitive with peer research universities” and reflects its confidence in his leadership. The university selected Goldstein after what it described as an extensive search supported by a 14-member presidential search advisory committee and executive search firm Isaacson Miller. Goldstein comes to Albuquerque from the University of California, Irvine, where he serves as vice chancellor for health affairs. The Albuquerque Journal reported that he earned $1.14 million there in 2024. ### What in Goldstein’s background may have influenced the contract? Goldstein is a pediatric cardiologist and professor of physiology and biophysics whose career has included leadership roles at Yale University School of Medicine, the University of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago and Brandeis University, according to UNM’s announcement of his appointment. UNM officials told the Albuquerque Journal that his medical background may help explain the higher compensation because health sciences leadership jobs typically pay more. UNM’s own payroll includes several highly paid health system leaders. The Journal reported that Dr. Mike Richards, executive vice president of UNM Health Sciences, earns $900,000 annually, while neurosurgery chief Dr. Griffith Harsh earns $1.02 million. ### Does the contract include anything beyond salary and bonus? The contract also provides funding for a research laboratory within the UNM School of Medicine, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The funding is set at $500,000 in the first year and $325,000 annually after that. UNM is expanding its health sciences operations, including plans to double the size of its medical school by 2030, the Journal reported. The university has also opened a new critical care tower intended to add capacity at its hospital. ### What happens next at UNM? July 15 is Goldstein’s first day under the contract, and June 30, 2031 is the scheduled end of the five-year term. Goldstein will succeed Stokes after the Board of Regents unanimously selected him on May 15. In UNM’s announcement, Goldstein called the appointment “a profound honor” and said the university is “a truly distinctive institution” with a research mission and academic health system central to New Mexico.