WVU’s Benson to earn $850K salary in presidency role

Veteran higher education leader Michael T. Benson will earn an $850,000 base salary as the next president of West Virginia University — a high dollar amount that is becoming increasingly common among top university leaders.

Mr. Benson signed a five-year contract with the Morgantown school over the weekend. He will take the helm as WVU’s 27th president this summer.

In addition to his base salary, Mr. Benson will be eligible to receive yearly deferred payments of $300,000 for “substantial services.” His total compensation package could reach a maximum of $1.5 million.

That pay is on par with the salaries of other flagship university leaders in the region. Both University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel and Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi earn base salaries of $950,000, and Mr. Benson’s WVU predecessor, Gordon Gee, receives an $800,000 base salary.

“The million-dollar university president is becoming more commonplace,” said Richard Vedder, an economist and professor emeritus at Ohio University.

As many higher education institutions battle diminishing trust, youth population declines and financial hurdles, the university presidency is becoming an increasingly scrutinized and unattractive job, Mr. Vedder said. Because of this, good presidents “aren’t as cheap as they used to be” — though growing salaries can in turn evoke further frustration from the public.

“It’s tough being a university president these days, and it’s doubly tough at WVU,” Mr. Vedder said, pointing to WVU’s own enrollment declines, financial challenges and recent cuts. “No one would say there is a bright future at WVU right now, but a great new president could turn that around.”

Mr. Benson, 59, will begin leading the Mountain State’s flagship university — with three campuses and nearly 26,000 students — in July.

WVU officials announced his selection and shared his contract on Monday after an unorthodox announcement process in which local media and Mr. Benson’s current employer identified him as WVU’s next leader three days before WVU publicly did.

In a Monday news release, Mr. Benson said he is “honored” to serve as the university’s 27th president.

“My 30-year career in public higher education has prepared me for this singular opportunity, and I wish to thank the Board of Governors for the trust they have placed in me and hope to earn that same level of trust and support from the entire WVU community,” Mr. Benson said.

This will be Mr. Benson’s fifth stint as a college president. Since 2021, he has led Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., 15 miles inland from Myrtle Beach. In fall 2024, the public university enrolled 11,225 students, its highest enrollment ever.

Prior to this, he was president of Eastern Kentucky University from 2013 to 2020, Southern Utah University from 2007 to 2013, and Snow College, a Utah community college, from 2001 to 2006. WVU will be the first land-grant and flagship university that he has led.

In addition to overseeing record enrollment at Coastal Carolina, Mr. Benson secured the largest donation in the university’s history — $10 million — to support a health college that opened in 2022.

Coastal Carolina also has touted Mr. Benson’s involvement in the renewal of a county sales tax that funds capital improvements for Horry County’s public schools and higher education institutions. The tax will provide more than $300 million in capital funding for Coastal Carolina through 2039.

Mr. Benson also oversaw record-breaking fundraising efforts at Southern Utah University and Snow College, and at Southern Utah, he helped the school’s athletic teams gain admission into the Big Sky Conference.

As WVU’s next head, Mr. Benson will be tasked with leading the research university through a period of challenges and changes. WVU has battled steady enrollment declines over the past decade, largely tied to the diminishing population in the Mountain State.

In September 2023, the university’s board slashed more than 140 faculty positions and 28 majors — including all of the school’s world language majors — in response to a multimillion-dollar deficit, despite public outcry that the move could have a detrimental impact on education and economic mobility in the state. This November, school officials projected a stable financial outlook for 2025.

The university community is also seeing a growing health system that reaches into Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland; shakeups in athletics, including the return of football coach Rich Rodriguez; and the January shuttering of WVU’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion following a state mandate.

Mr. Benson’s history of growing enrollments and breaking fundraising records was key in WVU’s choice to hire him, said board chair Rick Pill.

“As we look to advance our university and adapt to the fast-evolving world of higher education, the role of our university president is more critical now than ever,” Mr. Pill said in the news release.

Mr. Benson earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, master’s degrees at Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford. He played basketball for BYU and Oxford.

He serves on the Council of Presidents of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, and formerly served on the NCAA Honors Committee and the NCAA Board of Governors Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity.

A father of five, he was born in Utah and grew up in Texas and Indiana. His grandfather is the late Latter-day Saints President Ezra Taft Benson.