A key challenge with evaluating Frans’ pay is that the negotiations he’s involved with are private and ongoing. Even so, Farnsworth said the compensation is “not a good look.”
“I think it’s understandable for a board member such as myself, who has a fiduciary duty, and the public to go: ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’” Farnsworth said.
The university’s Board of Regents last month passed a $5.1 billion budget for its 2026 fiscal year that critics said went too heavy on administrative costs while cutting academic programs.
Payments for consultants might not be driving the larger budget debate, but the high hourly rates are being questioned as the university makes cuts elsewhere.
In December, the U gave a new contract to Frans that set no cap on his billable hours for 2025 and boosted his hourly rate from $700 last year to $800, according to disclosures the Minnesota Star Tribune obtained through public records requests. Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, the U’s president, signed the paperwork.
The university is also paying health care advisors at the firm Alvarez & Marsal anywhere from $300 to $875 per hour. And longtime health care consultant Cliff Stromberg is billing at $1,606 per hour — a 15% discount from his normal rate, the documents show.
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