On 4 September 2018, he assumed the role of president, upon which he said the budget cuts proposed by the Financial Oversight Management Board (FOMB) were "manageable", thought they would reduce the state's contributions to the university budget of $1,347 million (2018) by $243 million by 2023. The University has two simultaneous fiscal plans, one approved by the Board of Governors and the other by the FOMB. Haddock has claimed that the FOMB does not micromanage the university. When he received notification that the FOMB would require an additional $80 million as contributions to the pension plan, Haddock told Inside Higher Ed "We don’t have the money on top of the $86 million cuts -- now they want us to add another $80 million contribution. It's almost like they want to hurt us." Less than a month after taking office and having gone to each campus to better comprehend their problems, he had a meeting with the Executive Director of the FOMB, Natalie Jaresko, to "better explain to her the importance of full-ride scholarships, as well as the impact of the measures" expected by the FOMB. Since the FOMB had planned a yearly increase in cost-per-credit, Rock Solid Technologies doubled their 16 year old scholarship program to include four students in 2018, who had the opportunity to participate in a paid internship in the company. In the middle of the uncertainty of the time, Haddock recognized university achievements such as an Emmy-nominated documentary about Hurricane María made by University of Puerto Rico Arecibo students. In April 2019 the UPR Board of Governors acceded to a request from the FOMB to increase the cost-per-credit from $115 to $124 by July. The former was an increase as well from a long held cost of $57. Haddock opposed the gradual increase proposed by the FOMB which would raise the cost of tuition from $124 during the 2019-2021 academic year to $157 by the 2022–2023, as well as other cuts stipulated in their plan.