BOULDER – Experts say the three-year contract for the new president of the University of Colorado offers more protections to the university than it does the president.

The Daily Camera reported Tuesday that university regents named Mark Kennedy as the next president, agreeing to pay him a base of $650,000 for the first year and $850,000 for the other two years.

George Mason University professors Judith Wilde and James Finkelstein, who study presidential searches and contracts, say Kennedy has fewer protections than the university, but they classified the contract as “moderately sophisticated.”

The contract includes a list of 18 responsibilities and duties for the president.

The contract’s resignation section stipulates that Kennedy must provide advance notice before he leaves, and it requires recruitment fees to be paid to the university.