A new president will officially start working at Western Illinois University next month. Friday the board of trustees approved a 2 1/2 year contract with Guiyou Huang.
The board had voted unanimously to hire him at a special meeting in November.
He will be the 12th president of the university, with an annual salary of 320,000 dollars and a tenured position in the English Department.
Huang has served as president of Edinboro University in Pennsylvania since July of 2019. Under his leadership, the university increased freshman inquiries by 24 per cent, applications by nearly 8 percent, and admissions increased by 17 percent. In addition he helped improve student retention, reduced the budget deficit, and led Edinboro through the COVID-19 crisis, including a safe opening in the fall.
