Regents governing OSU extend president's contract

MIAMI, Okla. (AP) _ The board of regents governing Oklahoma State University on Friday extended the contract of OSU President David Schmidly. <br/><br/>Schmidly's five-year contract was set to expire

Saturday, September 17th 2005, 6:04 am

By: News On 6

MIAMI, Okla. (AP) _ The board of regents governing Oklahoma State University on Friday extended the contract of OSU President David Schmidly.

Schmidly's five-year contract was set to expire Jan. 15, 2008, but revisions allow it to automatically renew annually following that date unless the Board of Regents for Oklahoma A&M Colleges or Schmidly gives a year of notice for Schmidly's tenure to end.

Regents Chairman Burns Hargis said the board changed the terms because of Schmidly's ``excellent performance.''

``Our actions today reflect our support for the job he is doing and our desire to ensure stable leadership going forward at OSU and for the OSU System,'' Hargis said.

Schmidly, 64, said he enjoys his job and plans to continue working as long as the regents approve. Regents also voted to give him a 3 percent raise, bringing his salary to $266,779 as of Oct. 1.

OSU faculty also are eligible for 3 percent merit raises to be given next month.

Schmidly also told regents that OSU set a record for fall student enrollment, with 32,721 students on five campuses.

Enrollment on the main Stillwater campus was 20,834. Oklahoma State's other campuses are OSU-Okmulgee, OSU-Oklahoma City, OSU-Tulsa and the OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa.

In Stillwater, more than half of the freshman class earned some form of merit-based scholarship, officials said.

``Academically, this is one of the most exciting entering classes in years,'' Schmidly said. ``Our freshmen are well prepared and have earned numerous prestigious scholarships. We look forward to them accomplishing great things.''

In-state students make up 77 percent of this year's freshman class, while 22 percent are out-of-state and one percent are international, officials said.