Urbana, IL- The next president of the University of Illinois has made his first appearance at the flagship campus.

The U of I formally introduced Michael Hogan as the school's 18th president Wednesday afternoon. Hogan served as president at the University of Connecticut for the past three years.

Hogan must now work at repairing the damage left behind from the admissions scandal that led to B. Joseph White's resignation. On top of that, the university is in a budget crisis, raising tuition 9% and waiting on $400 million from the state.

"We've absorbed $41 million in budget cuts at UConn in the past 18 months," Hogan said. "All public universities are facing these kinds of challenges. I think we just have to make up our mind what's most important to us, on how we focus our resources, and preserve the essence of a great university."

Another challenge for Hogan: justifying his pay. The new president will be paid $620,000 per year, plus bonuses. That is a 37% increase from what interim president Stanley Ikenberry and former president White were both paid.  

Hogan heads to the Springfield campus Thursday morning. He officially takes over as president in July.

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