Upon passage of the budget, board chair Rema Vassar emphasized that the increases won’t stop with faculty and academic staff: 31% of the raises will go to support staff, according to the proposal.

Administrative Professional Supervisors Association president Joe Garza, who met with various MSU administrators throughout the year to push for the increases, told the board Friday that the budget was an opportunity to “recognize the sacrifices” his union’s members made throughout the pandemic.

Garza said after the meeting that his members had made financial concessions during pandemic-era budget cycles, and were hoping to see increased compensation as the university’s “financial position shifts” back to normal.

Garza also thanked the leadership of the faculty senate for supporting his group in this year’s budget process. He said in previous years, academic staff and support staff had not worked together, to their detriment.

“We had to engage more with each other and collaborate with each other to talk about these topics that impact all of us, because ultimately, we're all MSU employees,” Garza said.

Outside of the salary increases, the budget also allots $2.5 million in additional funding to the university’s Title IX office. MSU’s new Vice President for Civil Rights Laura Rugless – whose appointment was also passed by the board at Friday’s meeting – will head that office beginning July 1.

The budget also includes $2.5 million in funding for the new centralized Security Operations Center spurred by a mass shooting on the university’s campus in February.