By Scott Pohl, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-996573.mp3
East Lansing, MI –
For the fourth consecutive year, Michigan State University president Lou Anna Simon has refused to accept a pay raise.
MSU Trustees voiced strong support for president Simon's performance and wanted to raise her current $520,000 salary. Simon says she and her husband jointly decided to reject an increase.
Trustee Faylene Owen chairs the compensation committee.
When it comes to fundraising," Owen says, "she's right there. Academia? She's the best."
Simon's pay remains in the mid-range of Big Ten Conference presidents.
Today's Board of Trustees meeting also saw approval of a $3.7-million plan for a new entrance plaza at Old College Field. Work on the entrance to MSU's baseball, softball and soccer complex will begin in the spring. The Joe D. Pentecost Foundation has committed to $2-million of that expense.