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. 

Scott believes MSU is at “risk of losing" Guskiewicz following showcases of public dissent amongst the board. Scott pointed to trustees publishing op-eds, appearing on podcasts and sending “email messages where he has been disrespected." 

The contention amongst the board has gone so far to impact Guskiewicz’s health, she said.

“We should be ashamed to hear that we have caused that to any individual, let alone someone who came to this university at a very horrible time in our history," Scott said.

Scott also referenced MSU's high presidential turnover rate. The now board chair assumed the role of MSU trustee alongside fellow trustee Kelly Tebay Zemke on January 1, 2019.  If Guskiewicz were to leave the university, Scott and Tebay Zemke will have witnessed five presidents assume the helm in seven years, including interim presidents and Guskiewicz himself. 

Balow and Vassar both questioned the urgency of the raise and whether there was evidence Guskiewicz was considering leaving the university.

Vassar said she spoke with Guskiewicz earlier Sunday and that he told her he wants to remain at MSU.

“We are competing against ourselves,” Vassar said, adding that the board had “not seen an active offer” from another institution.

Pierce pushed back on Vassar’s comments during the meeting.

“It’s hard for me to believe what was just said,” Pierce responded.

The extension of Guskiewicz's contract comes at a time when two major universities in the region have lost their presidents. Ohio State University’s president resigned in March after disclosing an inappropriate relationship he had with a woman he sought to help secure jobs and university resources for. Within the state, the University of Michigan’s president-elect Kent Syverud stepped down following a cancer diagnosis. 

MSU spokesperson Emily Guerrant confirmed Guskiewicz did not attend the virtual meeting. 

The administration must still finalize the formal amended employment agreement contract.