Richard A. Bierschbach (WSU photo)
Wayne State University’s new president, Richard Bierschbach, will earn up to $870,000 in base salary and bonus pay in the first year of a contract that runs more than four years, Crain’s Detroit Business reports.
Bierschbach, who was appointed this week to the post after serving as interim president since September, will earn more than the $730,000 his predecessor, Kimberly Andrews Espy, earned.
He earned $569,000 as dean of the WSU Law School.
Espy resigned last September, nearly a week after the Board of Governors vowed to oust her.
One Wayne State source told Deadline Detroit last September that Espy had made her fair share of enemies and was perceived as silent, overly cautious and “missing in action” after President Trump took office and threatened to withhold research funding from universities like WSU if they did not comply with White House policy.
When it came to issues of academic freedom, free speech and supporting faculty, the person said Espy failed to speak up. However, the source added that Espy was in a tough position and had to be careful not to jeopardize government research funding, which could have harmed the university, particularly since it does not have large endowments like Harvard or the University of Michigan.
