MSU President Lou Ann Simon
Lou Ann Simon (MSU photo)
It pays to be the Michigan State University president -- very well, thank you.
President Lou Anna Simon was the highest-paid public university leader in the state for the second consecutive year in 2016, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
Simon’s total compensation in fiscal year 2016 was $860,198, placing her 12th among public university presidents nationwide. Her base pay was $750,000, with $100,000 in bonus pay and $10,198 in nontaxable pay.
Simon ranked sixth among public university presidents on last year's list, when she received $850,000 in total compensation.
Joel Ferguson, vice-chairman of MSU's Board of Trustees, tells the Lansing State Journal that Simon deserves to be Michigan's top-paid public university leader:
“For what Lou Anna is doing, I think she’s underpaid. We would pay her more but she won’t take it."
MSU educates more students than any other Michigan university, Ferguson notes. More than 39,000 undergraduates are enrolled.
