University of Toledo ex-president among 121 to receive buyouts

7/13/2017

Former University of Toledo President Lloyd Jacobs is among 121 employees to take a buyout as UT aims to save money by shrinking its work force.

Dr. Jacobs, 76, will receive $12,500 to end his UT employment, according to documents provided by the university in response to The Blade’s records request.

The sum is in addition to a million-dollar payout he negotiated at the time he resigned the presidency in 2014, before his contract expired. At the time, university officials described that decision as a mutual agreement between Dr. Jacobs and the board of trustees.

But after walking out of the president’s office, the vascular surgeon retained his tenure status as a professor in the medical college’s department of surgery.

He received his $392,700 presidential salary through the fiscal year that ended June 30. He also received a $150,000 lump-sum payment upon stepping down from the presidency, for a total presidential payout of more than $1.3 million over three years.

Now, the university will throw in the additional $12,500 as a final buyout that concludes his UT employment.

His salary would have dropped July 1 from $392,700 to $25,000, as the presidential pay rate expired but he remained a tenured faculty member. Instead, Dr. Jacobs accepted the buyout, which pays half of each participant’s annual salary.

Dr. Jacobs will continue to hold the title of president emeritus, a lifetime designation.

He refused to comment on his departure.

He became president of the former Medical College of Ohio in 2003, and then became president of UT when the two institutions were merged in 2006.

Since stepping down from the presidency, Dr. Jacobs has written articles and books, including The Surgeon and the Spirit: A Panoramic View of a Journey in Academic Surgery .

He’s also participated in applicant interviews for the college of medicine and the general surgery residency program; joined weekly UT conferences, faculty meetings, and grand rounds; and organized and served as a panelist and presenter at a UT medical college symposium earlier this year, university spokesman Meghan Cunningham said.

His other activities have included participation in various civic and academic organizations, presentations to medical-related groups, and mentoring within the surgery department, medical college, and other UT colleges.

Those duties did not include classroom teaching, Ms. Cunningham said.

The university offered buyouts to about 480 eligible employees based on age and years of service in an attempt to reduce employee numbers without widescale layoffs.

The 121 volunteers ended their UT careers by June 30. Their half-salary payouts will be issued this month, Ms. Cunningham said.

All told, the university will pay about $4 million in salaries to the departing staff and faculty members in the voluntary separation program.

Two then-UT employees agreed to six-figure buyouts, according to university records. Both held high-ranking, cabinet-level positions with the university.

Kaye Patten, former senior vice president for student affairs, will receive $114,473.

Alan Goodridge, a former provost and professor of biochemistry and cancer biology, will receive $112,902. He previously stepped down from the provost post — the university’s second-in-command position— after UT and the medical college combined.

Officials have said the buyout program will save UT about $4.8 million this fiscal year and about $8.4 million next year as the university realizes the full effect of salary and benefit savings.

Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.