Dive Brief:

• The Southern University System’s board of supervisors has voted against extending the contract of its president, Ron Mason.
• Mason said he would need the board to commit to his strategic agenda before he would agree to continue at the historically black university in Louisiana, while board members said they needed a more comprehensive, detailed plan than what he had provided.
• Last week, Southern’s faculty senate called for Mason’s contract to be terminated, following its vote of no confidence in the university’s leadership earlier in the year, the Times-Picayune reported.

Dive Insight:

In June, Mason had demanded that the board agree to his vision of Southern becoming a top-five historically black college/university and a top-200 public institution nationally, with a plan establishing clear benchmarks and goals. But, per the Times-Picayune, board chairwoman Bridget Dinvault said, “We get these visions from Dr. Mason, and a lot of times he leaves us without a roadmap."

Mason had been trying since 2012 to move forward with a plan to combine system and campus administrations, and to cut staffs at the Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans campuses. Mason’s annual salary is $374,000, plus $52,000 in vehicle and housing allowances, and his contract expires June 30, 2015.