Some instructors and professors at Western Michigan University are questioning a Board of Trustees proposal to give a $75,000 “merit” bonus to the school’s president. It’s on the agenda for tomorrow’s board meeting.
The Trustees also suggested a one-and-a-half percent raise for President Edward Montgomery. That would bring his salary to just under half a million dollars a year. The bonus-and-raise proposal comes during a fiscally austere time for many departments at Western, which laid off workers during the pandemic shutdown. Jasmine LaBine is the president of the Professional Instructors Organization, which represents part-time faculty. She says the Trustees are sending the wrong message investing money in one person, instead of.
“The hundreds of people that have really really worked hard to keep this university going through a really difficult time.
Full-time faculty at Western are taking a vote this week on a declaration of no-confidence in President Montgomery. The university declined to comment.
