As part of the settlement agreement that marked former Broad College of Business Dean Sanjay Gupta’s return to prominence, Michigan State University agreed to raise Gupta’s salary by nearly $200,000 and pay his legal fees, according to a copy of the settlement agreement obtained by The State News.
In addition to his current work as a professor in the business college, Gupta will co-chair MSU’s Green and White Council — a recently announced initiative meant to help the university meet Michigan’s current and future workforce demands. The agreement states that Gupta will earn a salary of $640,000 and be eligible for an annual performance bonus of $75,000.
MSU also agreed to pay $421,667 to Gupta’s legal counsel to cover his legal fees and the mediation costs.
Arrangements for how MSU was required to “acknowledge Gupta’s past contributions to MSU and the value he provides as a member of the Green and White Council” in the university’s announcement of Gupta’s appointment are also outlined in the settlement.
Gupta's current salary as a tenured professor is $466,409, according to MSU’s faculty and staff salary listing. His new earnings will also trump the $513,300 he earned as business college dean in 2021.
The settlement seemingly represents the end of a years-long saga that began when then-Provost Teresa Woodruff asked Gupta to resign from his post after he failed to report an assistant dean for non-consensually touching and harassing students at an end-of-year gala in 2022.
In a letter to MSU’s Board of Trustees later that year, Woodruff said Gupta’s misconduct had been larger than a simple mandatory reporting failure, pointing to a "constellation of factors and evidence that could not be ignored."
In February 2023, Gupta sued MSU and several officials including Woodruff, claiming he was falsely accused of the mandatory reporting violation and fired as part of a scheme by Woodruff to prevent him from becoming the university’s president. A subsequent independent investigation into Gupta’s removal found no evidence of Woodruff’s alleged "power scheme."
The agreement between Gupta and MSU went into effect Jan. 1. MSU announced Gupta’s appointment to co-lead the Green and White Council on Feb. 5.
Gupta will serve on the council for five years and will report directly to MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz, who is responsible for deciding if Gupta earns the $75,000 bonus.
At a press conference last week, Guskiewicz said Gupta "brings a lot of experience and expertise" to the council and that he is excited to see what Gupta and former Bank of America executive Matt Elliott produce through the council. Guskiewicz added that he began discussing with Gupta the prospect of him co-leading the council around October 2024.
"We feel like he’s a great choice to co-lead this," Guskiewicz said. "He’s wanted to get back and to be more engaged with the university."
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