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Gary Shapiro named next provost; pay increases by $56,000

By Eric Dresden on April 23, 2010 6:38 am in University / 5 comments

 

Gary Shapiro is officially Central Michigan University’s second-in-command after serving two stints as interim.

University President George Ross named him Provost on Thursday afternoon, nine months after Shapiro took the job temporarily.

“I felt I could contribute to the university,” Shapiro said. “I’m just delighted, I’ve been successful at this university … (I’m) hoping to help students, faculty and staff.”

Shapiro, formerly dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, took over for Julia Wallace, who left to become Provost at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay last summer. He also served as interim Provost in 2007 before Wallace took over.

Gary Shapiro

Gary Shapiro

Director of Public Relations Steve Smith said Shapiro will make $253,000 annually — $56,000 more than the $197,000 he received as interim provost. Wallace made $200,000 annually before she resigned.

Smith said the provost search was conducted internally.

“Personally, I think it’s a great hire,” he said.

Shapiro said he is happy to continue working with Ross, whom he also worked alongside while serving as interim provost in 2007. Shapiro said he knows the two work well together.

“(Ross) has always been very honest and forthcoming,” he said.

Shapiro said he has been at CMU for 31 years. He said the next focus will be on naming interims in the near future.

“Early in the fall, we want to conduct searches for interim positions,” he said.

According to a statement issued by the university Thursday, 36 percent of CMU’s senior officer positions are held by interims, 33 percent of which are in academic affairs. The situation is one which puts academic leadership under “tremendous strain,” Ross said.

Ross said Shapiro is the right fit for the position and has his priorities straight.

“Having continuity of leadership, paired with institutional knowledge and a strong understanding of our academic infrastructure, is critical during this period of transition,” he said in the statement. “Provost Shapiro and I have a history of working well together, and I have a high degree of confidence and comfort in his ability to continue driving our academic agenda in his role as Provost.”

Shapiro said his focus is still on students.

“The key is preparing students to be successful,” he said.

 

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  • Mad as heck!

    So lets raise tuition and not fix major issues on campus because we cant afford to but hey lets give this guy an extra 50+ grand more then the previous provost!
    What the heck!

  • Problems

    Small issues are not fixed, either…

  • anonymous

    i don't know all the specifics, but just from this article i notice that Wallace (the previous provost) is a female and made $200,000 as and now this new guy, Shapiro, a male, is going to make $50,000 more? interesting…

  • ananymous

    Yes, Shapiro was paid $153,000 as Dean year ago, then he was interim provost paid $197,000, now he is getting over $253,000. Wow, you can see where our students money go.

  • Nikki Sics

    I've said this before, but it's easy to see the pattern right now. Notice how the administrative staff just had to swallow a year with no raises? You know, the ones who we actually see, who answer all our questions, who file all our paperwork?

    With president Ross, you can *almost* make something like an argument: to get an outsider to come in, they paid him what other people at jobs like this would get paid. It's a huge jump (from $193000 to $350000, according to CM-Life), but it's a pill we supposedly have to swallow.

    With Shapiro, however, it's inexcusable. He's been here for 30 years, so there's no question of recruiting or luring. He's not going to bolt to the highest bidder. Bumping his pay by $50000 over the last provost is ridiculous.

    Next year the faculty will negotiate a new contract, and the administration will bunny-ear their pockets and make sad faces and say “we ain't got no money.” Those teachers are the people we'll be using as references, who'll write our letters of recommendation, who actually know our names. And next year they'll bump tuition, room, and board, pointing to the economy as the problem. Faculty will leave and they won't replace them (though that raise Shapiro just got could hire a brand new teacher); programs will be cut; student services will be cut.

    They'll tell students they can't help it, though they can clearly help themselves.

    The two weeks to graduation can't pass fast enough for me.