Robert Mahaney, left, chairman of the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees, and NMU President Fritz Erickson attend this morning's board meeting where it unanimously approved a new long-term presidential contract. The five-year contract places Erickson's base salary at $385,000. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees today recognized the “outstanding performance” of President Fritz Erickson with the approval of a new long-term presidential contract. The five-year contract places Erickson’s base salary at $385,000.

It also includes a performance-based bonus component, through which he will receive $50,000 for achieving established goals in 2017-18.

NMU Board Chairman Robert Mahaney said the contract recognizes Erickson for his “outstanding leadership and measurable achievements” in recent years.

“This is significant because it’s long-term and it keeps him here for the foreseeable future,” Mahaney said.

He said the contract has an annual-review provision, just as with other previous contracts in which compensation is tied to performance.

Mahaney also said the $385,000 salary is slightly below the median of other presidents’ salaries at Michigan public universities.

Derek Hall, NMU chief marketing officer, released a list of those salaries, with the University of Michigan coming out on top at $824,000.

“This compensation package allow us to be competitive on a national and state level while still staying within a reasonable range relative to the institutions in the state of Michigan,” Mahaney said.

Mahaney acknowledged Erickson’s new contract represents a big increase from his previous salary, which was $262,000.

He noted Erickson has led two consecutive years of double-digit enrollment growth at a time when Michigan is experiencing a significant decline in high school graduates.

In addition, Mahaney pointed out Erickson has steered Northern to significant progress in developing nationally recognized new academic programming, the build-out of the wireless Educational Access Network across the Upper Peninsula and a 34 percent increase in fundraising this past year.

“We’ve had a lot of success here at Northern over the past few years, but there’s so much more we can accomplish,” Mahaney said.

In connection with the announcement of the new contract, NMU’s board also reiterated its goals for the university in the upcoming year.

Board Vice Chairman Steve Mitchell said it will continue to pursue the goals described in NMU’s strategic plan, which includes completion of the university’s Strategic Resource Allocation project, a campus master plan update and the planning of a major fundraising campaign.

He said there were enrollment dips early in Erickson’s tenure, but that has changed with Erickson’s building of a strong team at NMU.

“The picture was a lot bleaker when I started on this board in January 2013, and so I think that it’s very important that Northern Michigan University provide compensation that is commensurate with what other university presidents are getting,” Mitchell said.

Erickson became NMU’s 15th president in July 2014. His academic areas of expertise are in education, technology and psychology.

“I just want to express my appreciation to the board for showing its confidence in me and the entire team,” Erickson said in a prepared statement. “Jan and I are delighted that we will be able to stay in this community and look forward to finishing our career at Northern. I remain committed to guiding the university to continued success and achieving the goals identified in Northern’s strategic plan.”

In other action during today’s brief business session, the board:

≤ Agreed to appoint the board chair and/or his designee and the president to review sexual misconduct investigation reports and submit certifications, as required, and take other action necessary to comply with its requirements. This relates to Section 265b of Public Act 265 of 2018, commonly referred to as the appropriations boilerplate.

≤ Approved a three-year extension for Anderson, Tackman & Company to serve as NMU’s external auditors.

≤ Agreed to change the name of the Learning Resources Division to Broadcast & Audio-Visual Services, effective Aug. 1.

≤ Agreed that the newly constructed Football Center in the Superior Dome be named the Rick and Nancy Hacht Football Center and the interior reception space be named the John and Shirley Berry Alumni Reception Area. Both donors provided major gifts toward the project.

≥ Approved faculty and administrative personnel appointments.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the NMU Board of Trustees is set for Sept. 20-21.