University of Massachusetts President Martin T. Meehan handed out hefty raises of up to $20,000 to his staff and other brass, including high-paid cronies of former President William M. Bulger, months after hitting up students for stiff tuition hikes, a Herald review has found.

The raises included a $19,000 increase for UMass Executive Vice President James Julian Jr., Bulger’s former top aide, who is now earning $371,384 a year — or about $221,000 more than what Gov. Charlie Baker makes, records obtained by the Herald show.

SEE UMASS' $100,000+ SALARIES (pdf)

The salary hikes went into effect this fall, around the same time Meehan and other UMass administrators moved into plush new offices on Beacon Hill that the Herald reported costs $1.5 million a year more in rent than what UMass was paying at its old location.

The pay raises also came despite a budget stalemate between Meehan and the Legislature, which is refusing to approve $10.9 million in funding to cover a 3.5 percent pay hike for unionized UMass teachers and staff.

Payroll records obtained by the Herald show that in the president’s office alone, eight people, including Meehan, make more than the governor, who earns $150,000 annually. Ten employees in Meehan’s office make more than Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg and Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, whose annual pay is $102,000.

They include David McDermott, another former Bulger associate, who got a $20,000 pay hike, pushing his annual salary to $195,742, according to payroll records. Bulger’s longtime press aide, vice president of communications Robert Connolly, got a raise that boosts his paycheck to $211,569 a year.

Meehan’s longtime press aide Patricia McCafferty, who is vice chancellor of university relations at UMass Lowell, saw her salary spike to $233,000 a year, records show.

Other high-paid administrators include Charles Pagnam, the director of the UMass Foundation, whose annual salary is a whopping $454,962, records show. Pagnam was among those moving into the new offices at One Beacon Street.

A university spokeswoman defended the raises, saying administrators in Meehan’s office and at other campuses got “increases mirroring those received by unionized employees” in September and October.

“UMass has an established practice of setting compensation at levels similar to those found at peer institutions,” communications director Ann Scales said. “The concept of providing comparable compensation for people who perform comparable duties is key to attracting and retaining top-flight faculty and staff.”

UMass has traditionally employed the highest-paid state workers in Massachusetts, putting them well above what those in the executive offices and Legislature earn.

Payroll records show the top UMass earner is men’s basketball coach Derek Kellogg, who has made $1.06 million in 2015 — with a few weeks still left to go. The team missed the NCAA tournament last season and is currently struggling with a 5-4 record.

UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy has earned $540,391 this year already, well above Meehan’s $525,000 annual salary. Vice Chancellor Katherine Shelley Newman makes $386,650 annually, according to records.

Another top Meehan aide, Senior Vice President Marcellette Williams, got a $16,000 pay hike, putting her annual salary at $318.808, according to records.

The UMass Building Authority, which engineered the move to One Beacon, also gave out significant raises to administrators, records show. Executive Director Patricia Filippone earns $240,000 a year.