WMU trustees extend president's contract into 2017

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Acting during a special formal session Nov. 7, the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to extend the contract of WMU President John M. Dunn for an additional year, with that term now to end June 30, 2017.

As part of its resolution the board increased Dunn's salary by 2 percent. Following the meeting, he once again affirmed his tradition of donating the new increase along with the amount of all previous salary increases he has received since 2007 back to the University for student scholarships.

Dunn, who has served as the University's eighth president since 2007, was lauded by Board Chair James Hettinger, who praised the president's performance and laid out the board's commitment to leadership stability.

"We have made huge progress in the past five years," Hettinger noted "We are not only a Carnegie research institution, but we've now affiliated with a law school and added a med school, and we are playing at a whole different level than we were 10 or 15 years ago. Future leadership is going to be critical to this institution."

Trustee William Johnston added his praise, thanking Dunn for agreeing to the extension and for "bringing great aspirations to the University, the University community and to the community at large."

Dunn's 2 percent salary increase is retroactive to July 1, and it is the same percentage increase awarded earlier this fall to employee groups who do not have union representation. The increase brings his annual salary to $390,431.

Following his past practice, Dunn will donate back to WMU the cumulative amount of his pay increases since his 2007 starting salary of $345,000. This means that this year, he will donate more than $45,000 to be used for student scholarship aid.

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