Michigan State University's Board of Trustees approved a $1 million raise and a two-year contract extension for university president Kevin Guskiewicz Sunday evening amid concerns that the president may leave the university.

The board voted to increase Guskiewicz’s salary from just over $1 million to $2 million annually and extend his contract through March 2031 during a special meeting announced earlier Sunday. 

The resolution passed 6-1, with trustee Mike Balow dissenting and trustee Rema Vassar abstaining from the vote.

In a press release sent out by MSU after the meeting, it says the amended contract is “consistent with leadership positions across higher education.”

Trustee Sandy Pierce, who serves as the chair of the budget and finance committee, says the raise will come from outside the general fund, although the committee has not yet defined where the alternative sources of funding are.

Pierce said the move was driven by concerns that Guskiewicz is “being aggressively pursued” by other universities. She described the raise as “an attempt to get in front of” the possibility that Guskiewicz could leave MSU.

“Hopefully (the money) is coming from the donor community,” Balow said. 

Several trustees, including Pierce, said they know Guskiewicz is "frustrated" with the actions of certain board members. Prior to assuming the role of MSU's president in 2024, Guskiewicz wrote in a 2023 letter that he would only accept the job if the board promised he could lead "without undue interference."

That promise has not been kept, board chair Brianna Scott said. 

“We are sugarcoating how frustrated President Guskiewicz has been,” Scott said.