Michigan State President Receives $1M Raise

"The board also raised his deferred compensation from $200,000 to $250,000 a year. The move comes as Guskiewicz faces mounting frustrations with the board, The Lansing State Journal reported. Though the newspaper did not specify possible matters of contention with the board, Board Chair Brianna Scott said in a Sunday board meeting that "our president is frustrated." Another trustee, Sandy Pierce, said Guskiewicz was being "aggressively pursued" and Michigan State didn't want to lose him."

"Trustees said they would seek outside funds to support the raise. Guskiewicz has been at MSU since March 2024. He was hired after former president Samuel Stanley Jr. resigned in late 2022 after three-plus years on the job amid a conflict with trustees over Title IX issues. Board members alleged that Stanley failed to properly certify Title IX compliance reports as required by state law; he maintained it was the trustees who made missteps."

"Michigan State's board has been defined by drama in recent years; trustees were accused of bullying interim president Teresa Woodruff and retaliating against a critical faculty member. Two trustees were also found to have violated university ethics rules, according to a 2024 report. In the same Sunday meeting, trustees also voted to revise their ethics policy to allow members to punish individual trustees who speak out publicly against decisions made by a board majority."

"That change passed 5 to 3, with some trustees expressing concerns about restricting free speech. Judith Wilde, a research professor at George Mason University who studies presidential searches and contracts, told Inside Higher Ed by email that she believes the raise is unprecedented. She said it is the largest raise for a president she has seen in her time study"

Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees voted to increase President Kevin Guskiewicz’s salary from just over $1 million to $2 million and raised his deferred compensation from $200,000 to $250,000 per year. The change followed reported mounting frustrations between Guskiewicz and the board, with board chair Brianna Scott stating that the president was frustrated. Another trustee said he was being aggressively pursued and that the university did not want to lose him. Trustees said they would seek outside funds to support the raise. Guskiewicz began in March 2024 after former president Samuel Stanley Jr. resigned amid Title IX compliance disputes. The board has faced recent controversy, including ethics violations and policy changes affecting public criticism by individual trustees.

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