MORGANTOWN – WVU supplied some answers on Wednesday to questions we submitted last week following news that President Gordon Gee had asked senior leaders to take a voluntary pay cut of up to 10%.
The news of that request came during the Nov. 6 Faculty Senate meeting. Among the questions we asked were the reason for the belated announcement (Gee said the request was made months ago), who was taking the cut and its financial impact.
WVU supplied this statement on Wednesday: “President Gee talked in his State of the University address on Oct. 23 about the need to move forward collectively after this difficult year. And he said, ‘It will take all of us – individually and collectively – to take that step forward in a new direction.’
“He discussed with members of university leadership voluntarily choosing to give back up to 10% of their annual salary. The voluntary program had 100% participation and resulted in $772,772 being given back to the university in either a salary reduction or a contribution to the university.
“While this will not make a significant impact on the overall budget, these administrators wanted to contribute and to answer President Gee’s call to help move the university forward.”
WVU said they did not have anything further to add to their statement and did not supply the number of people who made up the 100% participation.
WVU Provost Maryanne Reed said during the Faculty Senate meeting that she was among those taking a cut, but that WVU wouldn’t be revealing who volunteered.
WVU officials are public employees and their salaries are public record. Reed’s 2022 compensation was $435,561.10. The 10% cut would reduce her annual compensation by $43,556.11, or about $3,629.68 per month.
Gee’s 2022 compensation was $804,455.36. A 10% cut would reduce it by $80,445.54, or about $6,703.80 per month.
Other possible examples. Associate Provost Mark Gavin made $269,880.08 in 2022. A 10% cut would be about $26,988.01, or $2,249 per month. Chief Financial Officer Paula Congelio made $431,063.68 in 2022. A 10% cut would be about $43,106.39, or $3,592.20 per month.
Apart from the reference in the statement to Gee’s State of the University Address, WVU also did not speak to the reason for the timing of the pay cut announcement.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
