New Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert will be paid $430,000 a year, according to the contract approved by the state Higher Education Policy Commission on Friday.
The two-year contract, which officially begins Jan. 16 and runs through 2018, includes benefits and various stipends that will net the former Mississippi State University provost at least $37,000 a month.
Gilbert, whom the board hired last month after a nearly year-long presidential search that cost $70,000, accepted the contract terms last week.
In addition to salary and benefits, Gilbert will be required to live in the president's residence, which is used for official university functions. The neoclassical mansion is undergoing $500,000 in renovations. The university will cover all residency expenses including maintenance, utilities, taxes and insurance.
Gilbert's moving expenses also will be covered. He currently lives in Starkville, Mississippi, where Mississippi State is located.
Benefits include health and life coverage through West Virginia Public Employees Insurance. Gilbert also will be eligible to participate in the state's retirement plan.
He'll receive a monthly $900 vehicle stipend as well as $180 a month for mobile phone use. The university also will pay for a membership to the Guyan Golf and Country Club.
Any expenses Gilbert incurs performing his duties as president may be reimbursed by the university.
According to the contract, Gilbert's wife, Leigh, is authorized to serve as a representative for Marshall and permitted to accept payment from the university or its foundation for performing those duties.
Gilbert is Marshall's 37th president. He replaces interim President Gary White, who was appointed after the unexpected death of Stephen Kopp nearly a year ago.
According to the contract, Gilbert will be an at-will employee of the university board and may be terminated if its members find cause. Should he choose to resign, Gilbert must give the university 90 days notice.
When he takes office, Gilbert will be the state's second-highest-paid college president behind West Virginia University's Gordon Gee, who is paid $775,000 plus benefits.
Gilbert's pay is more than White's salary, but in line with a raise Kopp was scheduled to receive before he died.
White was paid $400,000. Kopp, whose raise would have kicked in this past summer, was paid $390,000 when he died.
The Marshall University Board of Governors will welcome Gilbert to campus on Dec. 2 with a public reception. He'll officially join the university at the start of the spring semester in January.
Reach Samuel Speciale at sam.speciale@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @samueljspeciale on Twitter.