Ohio University’s Board of Trustees clarified the pay raise awarded months ago to OU President Roderick McDavis and his wife, Deborah, as part of the university’s faculty and staff salary pool increase.
Both McDavises received a 1 percent pay increase at the board’s Friday meeting, increasing their salaries to $431,150 and $31,200, respectively.
Sandra Anderson, the board’s chair, announced near the end of the meeting that the McDavises are eligible for a portion of the faculty and staff’s salary pool, which increased by 1 percent at the August board meeting.
The McDavises’ raises were discussed in executive session.
The salary-pool increase for faculty and staff was approved at the August meeting after McDavis recommended it after OU’s boost in enrollment.
The board clarified Friday that the McDavises were eligible to receive a cut of that fund, Peter Mather, secretary to the board, said in an email.
“While it is the board’s practice to approve resolutions when acting upon new employment contracts for the president … the board has traditionally announced pay raises over the years without accompanying formal resolutions,” Mather said. “The (Ohio) Open Meetings Law allows executive sessions for personnel matters such as this.”
At the board’s August meeting, McDavis’ salary was increased 2.89 percent to $427,000, with a one-time bonus of $62,250, while Deborah’s was raised 3 percent to $30,900.
OU’s top governing body also approved several resolutions and heard numerous presentations on the state of the university.
In a rare moment of public disagreement, trustee Kevin Lake solely voted against a resolution to declare two parcels of land OU owns on East State Street “surplus property,” arguing that the university should wait to consider selling the land until its real estate survey is complete in the spring.
The board also announced that guaranteed tuition, a plan to be rolled out next fall that offers students the same tuition for four consecutive years, will be available to out-of-state students but not affect current OU students.
The board approved a six-year plan of OU’s Capital Improvement Plan, taking the first steps in building four new residence halls, renovating the Lausche Heating Plant, demolishing Clippinger Laboratories and building a new $90 million science facility, among other projects.
Anderson also highlighted the reaccreditation program OU is currently in and the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s new campuses in Dublin and Cleveland, in 2014 and 2015, respectively, as points of pride for the university.
“A number of things that are going on are positive and exciting for the university,” Anderson said.
OU currently has the highest composite Senate Bill 6 ratio in the state at 4.7 out of 5 and the highest enrollment increase compared to other state universities — two points McDavis said demonstrate strong fiscal health.
The ratio is a measure of state universities’ fiscal health by looking at universities’ expenses, revenue, debt and savings.
“Not bad for a university in Southeast Ohio,” McDavis said. “For Ohio University to be among its peers in both of those categories is very, very exciting news.”
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—Danielle Keeton-Olsen contributed to this report
