High Point University has been growing like California wildfires lately and, with expansion like the school is seeing, you need to hold on to the employees you have. So, it makes sense to treat them right – which High Point University President Nido Qubein is clearly doing.

Despite what many say is a lackluster US economy overall, On Tuesday, Aug. 13, Qubein surprised and excited more than 2,000 of the university’s faculty and staff members with a five-year bonus plan – meant as “a special way to thank them for their dedication and service to High Point University students and families.”

In recent years, many companies have gotten stingy with bonuses – and bonuses have always been very rare when it comes to higher education.

The extra money for employees – which everyone can surely find a use for – comes at a time when some colleges and universities across the country are closing, consolidating or streamlining.

As just about everyone in Guilford County – and many people across the world – knows, High Point University has been thriving at a time when many other colleges and universities are struggling. Qubein has invigorated the university over the years by offering a wide range of special perks such as free ice cream, putting a movie theater on campus, and including an arcade with free Skee-Ball.

In addition, there’s been a tremendous amount of new construction on the campus and the addition of new post-graduate programs.

And on August 13 came the bonus perk for the teachers and staff.

The university has achieved major growth under Qubein’s leadership and, when this year’s class arrives later this month, it will mean the largest total enrollment in school history. This semester, High Point University is also welcoming the inaugural classes for the new Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law and the Workman School of Dental Medicine.

“Our team is extraordinary, and God has richly blessed our institution,” Qubein said during HPU’s annual Faculty and Staff Kick-Off Meeting inside the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center on campus. “So, we wanted to develop a major ‘thank you’ that was also very practical for every employee. We developed this five-year bonus plan, which pays every full-time employee an additional bonus of $3,848 per year, for the next five-year period.”

There’s a particular historical significance behind the amount the full-time employees will be receiving in bonuses each year: The university was founded in 1924 and will celebrate its centennial anniversary this September. So, each full-time employee will receive a $1,924 bonus twice a year – meaning that a full-time High Point University employee could earn up to $19,240 in bonuses over the next five years.

Also, the schools’ full-time employees will get a “discretionary $600 that can be used on campus or with local merchant partners throughout the city.”

Qubein said the university’s Board of Trustees supported the idea “enthusiastically.”

Jermaine Artis, a member of the school’s Campus Police and Security Department, said this was a very meaningful gesture.

“This is already an exciting time here for High Point University as we welcome our new students, and then today we learned how Dr. Qubein is further investing in employees through a very generous bonus for us,” Artis said “I feel very blessed to work at HPU over the last 16 years and to work under his leadership. My colleagues and I are excited and full of gratitude to be an employee here at the university. As we celebrate our centennial anniversary, this bonus reminds us that our future is bright.”

Part-time employees will also get a five-year bonus –  though for a different amount.

La-Nita Williams, the head of circulation at the school’s Smith Library, said this bonus and other gifts employees have received over the years show how much the faculty and staff are valued there.

The latest two new graduate schools bring the university’s total number of academic schools to 14, which has increased from just three schools when Qubein was appointed the college’s president in 2005.

 The average tenure for a college president is less than six years, however, Qubein has now served as High Point University’s president for two decades.