Spring Break
Interim director to get salary
BETH BURGER
Barber is the first executive director to receive pay from the board.
A 35-year veteran University administrator, Barber will act as a consultant to the board -- an independent fundraising body that provides counsel to the University.
He estimated his position will only last a year, and he'll be asked to help redefine the responsibilities of the executive director.
In the past, the University's board executive director has set meetings, managed day-to-day affairs and overseen some of the school's study-abroad locations, officials said.
To prepare for his new post, Barber said he will examine the fundraising mechanisms of other universities, like Georgia Tech's foundation, to see how executive directors interact with their boards.
"I'll be looking at schools like Georgia Tech, who I've spent my whole life hating, to see how they do things," said Barber, a University graduate.
The Georgia Tech foundation's executive director reports directly to the board's members and holds no other university post, said Bob Harty, the school's spokesman.
Barber was officially named executive director after a meeting last week where his predecessor, Tom Landrum, stepped down.
During the meeting, the board also announced an audit of University President Michael Adams' expenditures. The audit is scheduled to be completed in five to six weeks.
When Landrum served the board, he also worked as Adams' executive assistant.
While he wasn't compensated by the board, Landrum said he received a raise of $24,000 from the University when he first took the position on an interim basis.
Landrum, who continues to serve as Adams' executive assistant, said his salary will not decrease even though he no longer serves the board as executive director.
He said he would help out in other areas, including helping the University raise money for the capital fundraising campaign.
"I've taken on additional duties in which I will be working on a fund-raising portfolio for the University," he added.
