Wayne State University board members brought disagreements with each other and President Roy Wilson out in the public Wednesday, verbally brawling over Wilson's performance.

The sharpest words came from board members unhappy with Wilson and his use of consultants during negotiations with the Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Health Center over where the university's medical school will have its main partnership.

Board members turned caustic at the end of the meeting, discussing Wilson, who sat stone-faced in the center of tables arranged in a big U.

Board member Dana Thompson decried glowing testimonials to Wilson given by a handful of community members earlier in the meeting and a letter signed by more than two dozen community leaders supporting Wilson's tenure at the school.

Thompson said that wasn't the Wilson she knows.

"The Roy Wilson I know is unfit to continue to serve," Thompson said. "We don't tell the board of directors of those corporations and foundations that came out in support how to invest their money. They should stay in their lane.

"If Roy Wilson had any shred of integrity he would be leaving the university after this meeting."

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Normal oversight

Thompson went on to compare what the board was doing — she called it normal oversight — to the lack of oversight done by board members of Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon during the Larry Nassar scandal. She said Wayne State board members weren't going to give up holding Wilson accountable for his decisions.

Board member Sandra Hughes-O'Brien sounded a similar theme. She said board members were holding Wilson accountable for spending millions of dollars on consultants for "poor work product."

"This has never been about being anti-President Wilson," she said. "This is also not about lessening his achievements while he has been here, but that does not dissolve us of holding him accountable."

The other board member to speak critically of Wilson was Michael Busuito, who led off the attack against Wilson's use of consultants and decision-making regarding the medical school.

"This about transparency and accountability," Busuito said, adding he wasn't on the board to be Wilson's friend, but instead to offer oversight.

Support for Wilson

Earlier in the meeting, several community members praised Wilson for his work in driving the university forward.

"He is the kind of guy who builds bridges, not walls," said Keith Williams, of the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus and a former Wayne County Commissioner.

The attacks on Wilson drew a sharp rebuke from board chairwoman Kim Trent at the end of the meeting.

"It's very ironic that members of this board have said that President Wilson and members of the community should stay in their lane," Trent said, adding that the board gave Wilson the authority to handle the day-to-day running of the university while its job was to set policy.

"This president has done an excellent job," said Trent, who is a freelance contributor to Free Press opinion content. "I think that this board has demonstrated incredibly poor judgement in recent weeks. This person (Wilson) doesn't deserve what he experienced today."

Wilson left as soon as the meeting was adjourned without speaking to reporters.

Wilson, hired in 2013, was the deputy director for strategic scientific planning and program coordination at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities before coming to Wayne State. His contract was extended in December 2018 to last until 2023.

Busuito, O'Brien and Thompson all voted against the contract.

Under his new contract, Wilson receives a $603,343 annual base salary — about a $100,000 increase from his previous contract.

Wilson’s base salary will increase by 3 percent annually, according to the contract. He is also eligible for a $25,000 annual performance bonus.

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Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj