President Hogan's tenure at the University of Illinois was filled with problems. At the start of his position at Illinois, Hogan has been criticized for big salary raises to the members of his administrative team at the time of severe budget problems for the university and the state. Hogan's starting salary at the University of Illinois was $620,000, which is $170,000 more than the salary of his immediate predecessor, B. Joseph White. Hogan also brought as his chief-of-staff, Lisa Troyer, who was given the initial salary of $195,000 per year, compared to the $107,500 salary of the executive assistant to Joseph White. Troyer had previously worked for Hogan both at Iowa and Connecticut.