Board of Trustees | Photo by Monica Brutto | The Wright State Guardian
On Friday, April 26, the Wright State Board of Trustees met to discuss end-of-year evaluations and resolutions. The board approved a 25% base salary bonus for President Edwards, Student Government Association resolution 24-08 and an enhanced Premier Health affiliation agreement.
President Edwards’ evaluation
At the last meeting for the academic fiscal year, the board must evaluate the university president based on goals and objectives set in the prior year, according to theBoard of Trustees Bylaws.
At the February meeting, trustees Dawn Conway, Jared Ebbing and Vice Chair Andrew Platt were appointed to a committee to evaluate the president and make recommendations for the board to vote on in the public session.
The committee determined that President Edwards had met her goals for the year and recommended the board award her a bonus of 25% of her base salary.
“President Edwards has implemented a student first model at Wright State University, prioritizing student success over a variety of initiatives,” the resolution reads.
The board unanimously approved the bonus.
“By awarding this bonus the board of trustees is affirming her leadership as our president,” Conway said.
In 2022, President Edwards made $512,879.04, according to The Buckeye Institute, an independent research and educational institution. Based on this salary, the 25% bonus would be about $128,219.
SGA Resolution 24-08
On Tuesday, March 26, the Student Government Association unanimously passed Resolution 24-08, which presents a plan to build a student Recreation Center and a Career Services Center for Wright State University. This resolution includes a $200 fee that would be levied on incoming students.
Daniel Palmer, government affairs specialist and SGA advisor, has also been involved in the process of writing the resolution and creating the plans for what will be done.
“We would pretty much put all the student recreational fees or assisted recreational activities out front, and then we do a repurpose about 70,000 square foot studio dedicated to student activities. That’s the path we’re kind of leaning toward right now,” Palmer explained when introducing the resolution.
The resolution states that campus facilities like this can increase student retention and satisfaction.
After SGA passed the resolution, it was sent to the board for approval. At the meeting on Friday, the board unanimously approved the resolution.
The resolution will move to the Ohio Department of Higher Education to be codified.
Premier Health affiliation
On December 15, 2023, the board authorized the discussion of an increased partnership to transform Premier Health into an academic medical center. In the resolution, Wright State University’s president and Premier Health’s president and chief executive officer were tasked with defining and outlining the two organizations’ new affiliation agreement.
On Friday, the board approved the new affiliation agreement, which replaces the current agreement. The new agreement will bring alignment between the two organizations.
“Wright State is going to be the primary academic affiliate of Premier and Premier is going to be the primary academic health system and clinical training site for Wright State,” Chief Operating Officer Gregory Sample said in the meeting.
The new agreement has a 30 year term with a mandatory review to be conducted every year by the president of the university and the CEO of Premier Health.
