Kent State University President Beverly Warren received a $75,000 bonus and 2 percent raise Tuesday as part of her annual performance review.
The board of trustees, which held its meeting at Akron Children’s Hospital, praised Warren’s leadership, saying she has exceeded expectations since she was hired as president last year.
Warren, whose base salary was $450,000, also announced that she is donating her raise, which amounts to $9,000, back to the school for student scholarships. The raise is retroactive to July 1.
“I am very grateful as I’ve said on numerous occasions to be a part of this community,” Warren said. “It is exceeding everything that I had anticipated and it has been a pleasure every day to come to work.”
The bonus was the maximum allowed under her contract, while the 2 percent raise is in line with what other employees have received.
The Kent State board conducted a verbal review behind closed doors and there was no written evaluation completed.
Board Chair Dennis Eckart said after the meeting that the board would conduct a written evaluation in future years but thought it was unnecessary now.
He said the board based its review on goals set by Warren and her self-evaluation.
Her goals included increasing the number of students graduating in less than six years, launching a rebranding to raise the university’s national profile and boosting research spending.
She also has challenged the school to raise its endowment and become the healthiest university in the country.
“Our hopes have been translated into her goals,” Eckart said. “Her goals have turned into incredible results.”
After the meeting, Eckart cited the fact that she has improved the campus since succeeding Lester Lefton.
“There was no lull,” he said. “Everything that was going good, we believe she made better. Our building projects are on time and on budget. Our ACT numbers are high. We also got a report ... that applications are up.”
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.