UTSF Press Release Responding to 100% Salary Raise for MSU President
May 18, 2026
Official Statement from the Union of Tenure System Faculty at MSU on the MSU Board of Trustees Action
MSU’s Union of Tenure System Faculty (UTSF) is outraged by the MSU Board of Trustees’ actions at its “Special Board Meeting” held at 8pm on Sunday, May 17. In this meeting, the Trustees approved a compensation increase for MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz that included a $1 million raise in his base salary (effectively giving him a 100% raise) and a $250,000 annual award. Further, although Guskiewicz only started at MSU in March of 2024, the vote included a two-year contract extension from March 2029 to March 2031.
Last night’s Trustee meeting was not scheduled and was held with the minimum public notice period allowed under law. The public was not allowed to comment and the meeting took place on a Zoom webinar that limited the number of attendees.
“Clearly, the Board intended to hide their actions from public scrutiny and the university community,” said Dr. NiCole Buchanan, UTSF President and MSU psychology professor.
In the Spring of 2025, the Office of the President demanded 9% across-the-board budget cuts, which pose dire threats to academic positions and programs as well as the quality of education and research across the MSU community.
Despite the devastating impacts of looming budget cuts to MSU’s core mission, the Board of Trustees doubled down on its support for highly-paid administrative positions over the needs of students, faculty and academic programs.
Buchanan added, “UTSF was born out of the deep commitment of the tenure system faculty to students, to teaching and research, and to the belief that better conditions for faculty strengthen the quality and integrity of the University. This action by the Board of Trustees stands in direct opposition to those goals.”
The Union of Tenure System Faculty represents nearly 1,800 tenure-system faculty and librarians at MSU and was officially recognized as an employee union by the university in September of 2025.
