Morgan State University President David Wilson will lead Maryland’s flagship historically black college until 2023, as he signed a new five-year agreement with school regents during their annual board meeting.
Dr. Wilson, who was appointed as president in 2010, was lauded for increasing second-year student retention, boosting the university’s credit rating and increasing endowment returns over the course of his tenure.
“The Board of Regents of Morgan State University has been generally very pleased with the performance, administration and leadership of Dr. David Wilson during his tenure as University President and the Board wishes to underscore that satisfaction in good faith with a five year employment contract,” said Board Chair Kweisi Mfume.“ We hope that this demonstrated commitment signals to donors, potential donors, our Governor, the State Legislature, the larger world of academia, alumni, supporters and most of all our students, that we support the leadership of President Wilson.”
In a release, school officials said Dr. Wilson, a Tuskegee University alumnus, will receive a three percent salary increase which he plans to donate back to the university over the next several years. He will relinquish the opportunity to remain at the university as a tenured professor at the conclusion of his service as president, but will also receive a deferred compensation retirement plan.
In 2012, MSU regents voted for a non-renewal of Dr. Wilson’s original contract, but reversed their decision after outcry from students and alumni. Three years later, he faced criticism for attempting to create joint programs with neighboring predominantly white institutions at the center of a lawsuit filed by stakeholders of the state’s four HBCUs, which mirrored eventual recommendations made by the state in a failed attempt to broker a settlement in the litigation.
