Florida Atlantic University’s chief fund raiser is leaving the institution about one year into a six-year contract, and he’s taking with him $578,000 in severance pay as a parting gift.

Lawrence Davenport, executive vice president and director of the FAU Foundation, reportedly resigned because he wanted to pursue a university presidency. With a capital campaign about to start at Florida Atlantic, officials wanted somebody in the post who would remain throughout the five-year fund-raising drive, according to the Sun-Sentinel, a newspaper in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

It’s unclear whether Mr. Davenport is receiving the money — to be paid over the next 27 months — because he was fired. According to the Sun-Sentinel, his contract stipulated that he would receive two years of pay if he was fired, but nothing if he left voluntarily. A university spokeswoman refused to answer the question from The Chronicle.

In a written statement, Frank Brogan, the university’s president, said that the administration would “look at all appropriate available funds” to provide Mr. Davenport’s severance pay “and draw from those that will have the least impact on university operations.” —Erin Strout