NEW BRUNWICK -- Rutgers President Robert Barchi's paycheck is getting a lot fatter.

The state university president was awarded a $97,000 annual bonus earlier this month after a closed-door meeting in New Brunswick with members of the Rutgers Board of Governors, according to university documents.

Barchi will also get a 2 percent pay raise, retroactive to July 1 of last year, along with other top Rutgers officials.

That will boost the president's annual base salary by more than $13,000 to $676,260 a year. The pay raise will also make him eligible for an even heftier maximum bonus of $101,439 during his next annual performance review.

Barchi, 69, is in his fourth year as Rutgers' president. He earned high marks during this year's review by the executive committee of the university's board, according to a Feb. 8 letter notifying the president of his bonus and raise.

"We are delighted with the progress Rutgers has seen this past year, and we thank you for your dedication and leadership. We look forward to continued success in the future," Greg Brown, chairman of the Rutgers Board of Governors, wrote in the letter.

Barchi was eligible for a maximum of $99,450 in "incentive compensation" this year, the equivalent of 15 percent of his base salary, according to his 2012 hiring agreement. The letter from the board did not indicate why Barchi was awarded $2,450 less than his full bonus.

The new bonus covers Barchi's performance during the 2014-2015 fiscal year, which ended July 1, according to the letter. That pre-dates several recent Rutgers controversies, including the arrests of several football players and the suspension of football coach Kyle Flood in September for breaking campus rules by contacting a professor to try to help one of his players improve a grade.

Barchi fired Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann in November after the football team's losing season. The president's leadership during those events will be part of his next performance review.

As it has in past years, the Rutgers board reviewed Barchi's job performance in private and approved his bonus in a closed session without any public vote or discussion. University officials released a copy of the letter informing Barchi of his bonus and raise after NJ Advance Media inquired about his performance review.

University officials also released a two-page addendum to Barchi's hiring agreement that the board approved in private last summer. The addendum, dated July 16, 2015, raised Barchi's pay from $650,000 to $663,000 retroactive to 2014.

Barchi's revised hiring agreement also added a potentially lucrative pre-retirement package for the president. Under the new provisions:

Barchi will get a one-year sabbatical at full pay if he stays in office until at least June 30, 2017. He will have no obligation to return to Rutgers after his sabbatical.

If Barchi choses to return to Rutgers after he steps down as president and takes his sabbatical, he will be offered a job as a full-time professor.

Barchi is guaranteed to be among the highest-paid Rutgers professors if he returns to the faculty. Under the deal, he will be paid "no less than" the highest-paid professor at Rutgers, excluding medical school professors. Former Rutgers President Richard McCormick had a similar clause in his hiring agreement that

When Barchi was hired in 2012, he said he told the Rutgers board he was making a five-year commitment to the university. He has not indicated he plans to remain president beyond 2017.

Barchi was the highest-paid public college president in New Jersey and the 12th best compensated in the country during the 2013-2014 school year, according to a survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education released last year.

In addition to his base salary and bonus, the perks of Barchi's job include the use of a presidential house in Piscataway and a car and driver.

Barchi's latest bonus of $97,000 is his highest since he arrived at Rutgers. In 2013, he was awarded $90,000 in incentive pay, according to university documents. The following year, he was given a $95,000 bonus.

After his first year in office, Barchi and his wife donated his $90,000 bonus back to the university to fund student scholarships.

"He has not made any plans to do that this year," said Peter McDonough, Rutgers' senior vice president for external affairs.

But, the Barchis continue to make regular contributions to various philanthropic causes, McDonough said.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find NJ.com on Facebook.