Six-figure bonuses have been causing problems lately for Lu Hardin, president of the University of Central Arkansas.

As a state employee, Mr. Hardin may have compensation that exceeds $202,160 only if the money comes from private sources, according to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. But, the newspaper reported, the university tapped into public coffers last year to give Mr. Hardin a $100,000 bonus. On Friday a member of the university’s Board of Trustees paid the university for the full amount of that bonus.

But questions also arose about the legality of Mr. Hardin’s most recent bonus, a $300,000 sum awarded by the trustees in May. With the Arkansas attorney general’s office studying the matter, Mr. Hardin said today he would reimburse the full $300,000.

University officials said in a news release, available on the Web site of the Arkansas Times, that Mr. Hardin could eventually receive the $300,000, but only “if private funds are used to cover the full amount, and only after the UCA faculty receives salary increases.” —Paul Fain