Wright State University president David Hopkins has decided to leave WSU ahead of his scheduled retirement date of June 30.
Effective March 17, he will step down from the position of president.
Curtis McCray has been appointed to work as the interim president until Cheryl Schrader takes office on July 1.
McCray has served as president of four universities: the University of North Florida, California State University; Long Beach, Millikin University, and National Louis University.
Wright State’s relationship with McCray began when he served as a consultant during the presidential search.
While Hopkins will not be serving as president, he will continue to teach within the College of Education and Human Services in a faculty position. His salary will be reduced to $200,000 from the $432,000 in base pay he would have been owed as president. (To see what the rest of the WSU faculty and staff make, click here.)
“There are several reasons why now is the time to make this change,” Hopkins wrote in an e-mail to the faculty, staff, and study body. “I want to share two: First, I want to position our new President, Dr. Cheryl B. Schrader, for every success possible. I will assist her as necessary as she transitions to her new role on July 1, 2017. Secondly, we have a substantial undertaking to bring our budget into alignment with our revenues. Our Board of Trustees is very involved in making these difficult decisions.”
