Michael Drake set to receive more than $1M annually as Ohio State president

Kristen Mitchell
Fri, 31 Jan 2014 21:00:13 +0000
Campus, michael drake, ohio state, osu, president

University of California Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake at a press conference Jan. 30. OSU officials announced that day Drake will be the next OSU president.
Credit: Ritika Shah / Asst. photo editor

Ohio State’s next appointed president Michael Drake is set to earn more than $1 million including a base compensation of $800,000, deferred compensation of $200,000 and other perks.

According to Drake’s contract with OSU, Drake will also be entitled to receive an annual credit of $200,000 under a deferred compensation agreement and will be eligible for up to a 25 percent annual performance award for reaching “mutually agreed-upon performance targets and goals.”

Drake is slated to also be granted tenure in the OSU College of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology and the College of Education and Human Ecology, however during his time as president he will not receive any tenured employment compensation or be expected to perform “substantial” faculty duties.

Drake’s contract also says he will be provided with laboratory space in the College of Medicine and research funds up to $50,000 per year for as long as he is president.

He is set to receive an automobile stipend of $1,200 per month and will be expected to live at the OSU presidential residence.

OSU officials announced Drake as the university’s next president Thursday, effective June 30. His new contract with the university is set to last at least five years, but a second term and associated details will be “determined by a mutual agreement” between OSU and Drake.

Drake currently serves at the chancellor of University of California Irvine and was appointed to that position in 2005. Before his appointment, he served as vice president for health affairs for the University of California system for five years.

Drake made an annual salary of $401,115 in that role, Ria Carlson, associate vice chancellor for strategic communications at UC Irvine, said in an email Thursday.

At Irvine, Drake “doesn’t have an employment agreement or defined term” and is an “at-will employee,” Carlson said.

Former OSU President E. Gordon Gee earned nearly $1.9 million in the 2011-12 fiscal year at OSU.