The Board of Trustees convened Friday to discuss issues including athletic contract extensions, President Harris Pastides’ compensation package and to hear from student body President Ross Lordo. The following items were discussed.
— Women’s golf coach Kalen Anderson, men’s soccer’s Mark Berson, swim and dive’s McGee Moody, softball’s Beverly Smith and women’s soccer’s Shelley Smith all had contract extensions approved.
— Berson has now been with the Gamecock program for 40 years, and Anderson is now the third-highest paid women’s golf coach in the SEC.
— The Board voted to recommend changes to Pastides’ compensation package. Pastides will now receive a $100,000 increase to his supplemental pay from the University Foundation that was previously planned for July 2018.
— Pastides’ retention bonuses from the University Foundation through 2022 were also decreased, and the difference will go towards a “retirement vehicle.” University spokesperson Wes Hickman emphasized that Pastides has no plans to retire despite this change “[deferring] most of the president’s retention incentives to post-retirement.” Technically, the University Foundation’s Board of Trustees still must approve this recommendation for it to become official.
— Student body President Ross Lordo continued his push for a greater student role on the Board of Trustees. Lordo, who campaigned on getting students a voting seat, sought to gain support for a bill introduced in the state senate that would make the change. He also brought up recent public safety incidents at off-campus housing locations and called on the board to remain aware of threats to student safety.