UW President Mark Emmert leaving to head NCAA
University of Washington President Mark Emmert is leaving to become president of the NCAA.
Seattle Times higher education reporter
KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2006
University of Washington President Mark Emmert has been named president of the NCAA. Above, Emmert speaks at a fundraiser in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in 2006.
About Mark Emmert
A native of Fife, Pierce County, Mark Emmert became the 30th president of the University of Washington in 2004.
Age: 57
Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, DeLaine. They have two grown children, Steve and Jennifer.
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, UW; master's and doctoral degrees in public administration, Syracuse University.
Professional background: UW president, 2004-2010; chancellor, Louisiana State University, 1999-2004; chancellor, University of Connecticut, 1996-1999; provost and vice president for academic affairs, Montana State University, 1992-1995; various academic and administrative positions, University of Colorado, Denver, 1985-1992; assistant professor of political science, Northern Illinois University, 1983-1985; university fellow and research assistant, Syracuse University, 1980-1983.
Key achievement: Raised more than $2.6 billion for UW scholarships, fellowships, endowments, programs and facilities.
University of Washington President Mark Emmert is leaving after nearly six years on the job to become president of the NCAA.
Emmert has been considered a rainmaker at the UW. One of his biggest achievements was leading an enormously successful fundraising effort that raised $2.68 billion by the time it ended in 2008. And he has been credited for recruiting top faculty and overseeing the continued success of the UW's medical school and other colleges.
But Emmert seemed to lose something of his golden touch in the last couple of years. His compensation package of $905,000, which made him one of the highest paid college presidents in the country, increasingly became a source of irritation to faculty and the public — especially as the UW was forced to cut services and eliminate some 850 staff positions due to state budget cutbacks.
By accepting the NCAA position, Emmert fills a vacancy created by the passing of NCAA President Myles Brand in September 2009 and will take over duties of the office from interim President James L. Isch. He will be based in Indiana and starts work Nov. 1.
Brand was paid about $1.7 million a year.
In a letter to faculty and staff, Emmert said he was accepting the post with "very mixed emotions" and that the UW was the only university he would want to preside over.
"DeLaine and I always have been, and always will be, Huskies for life," he said in a prepared statement.