The University of Michigan’s former President-elect Kent Syverud will make $2 million as a tenured faculty member after stepping away from the position because of a brain cancer diagnosis, a contract amendment released by the university showed.
The university’s Board of Regents approved a contract amendment for Syverud on April 15, the same day Syverud and Board Chair Mark Bernstein announced his diagnosis to the public. The regents determined Syverud would join the university’s law school as faculty when able, with the contract going into effect on May 11.
Syverud will also serve as a special adviser to the board, according to the contract.
Syverud, 69, will receive the standard university benefits for tenured faculty, the contract said. This includes vacation time, health insurance, life insurance and long-term disability insurance. He will also receive a $10,000 monthly stipend for housing expenses and an additional $5,000 to cover living expenses during his employment, the contract said.
Board Chair Mark Bernstein did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the contract amendment.
Syverud’s contract amendment is similar to his initial contract, which entitled him to an annual base salary of $2 million. If the board decided he couldn’t do the job due to illness or disability, the contract said, he was entitled to a year of administrative leave. After his return to the tenured faculty, he would make $2 million for the first three years.
However, the contract, initially set for July 1 and then moved to May 11, never went into effect.
Syverud is undergoing treatment at Michigan Medicine, the university’s hospital.
The university announced last week that former interim President Domenico Grasso would be serving as the 16th president while the university sought his replacement.
“The board plans to re-engage a search process as soon as possible,” Bernstein said. “We will share details about this in the coming days. We have no doubt that outstanding candidates will seek an opportunity to lead our great university because, as Kent said earlier this year, ‘Michigan has been, is now, and must remain the best public research university anywhere.'”
satwood@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: UM’s Kent Syverud set to earn presidential salary on return to faculty
Reporting by Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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