CHARLESTON – The newly appointed director of a new center at West Virginia University focused on “classical Western history and culture and American constitutional thought” will be paid nearly one-third of $1 million during his first year.

According to an employment contract obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, WVU offered former Duquesne University associate professor Patrick Lee Miller two distinct positions: the directorship of the new Washington Center for Civics, Culture, and Statesmanship; and a tenured appointment in the Department of Philosophy within WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

“I am pleased to offer you a position as the Director of the Washington Center for Civics, Culture, and Statesmanship with (a) Professor appointment with the award of tenure in the Department of Philosophy of the West Virginia University (WVU or University) Eberly College of Arts and Sciences,” wrote Eberly College Dean R. Gregory Dunaway and Paul K. Kreider, interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey and WVU President Michael Benson introduced Miller as the Washington Center’s founding director during a press conference at the end of October. Miller has expertise in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, the philosophy of Plato and Friedrich Nietzsche, and psychoanalysis as pioneered by Sigmund Freud.

House Bill 3297 created the Washington Center, charged with teaching students about “classical Western history and culture and American constitutional thought.” The Legislature allocated $1.5 million in the general revenue budget for the current fiscal year for the center.

The director is tasked with creating a core curriculum in American constitutional studies; educating students in political philosophy, constitutional governance, economic thought, and self-government; and hosting lectures, debates, and inviting scholars and speakers.

“In your role as Director, you will report to the President and the Provost,” Dunaway and Kreider wrote. “You agree and will have the responsibility and authority to oversee the business affairs and operations of the Washington Center in your role as Director, providing professional, executive, supervisory and general administrative services as needed or as the President, Provost or their designee shall from time to time determine.”

According to the contract – dated Oct. 21 – Miller was first engaged by WVU as an independent consultant to assist in the “initial planning and programmatic development of the Center.” The consultant agreement covers a period between Oct. 13 and Dec. 31. For that, Miller will be paid a maximum of $10,143, paid in installments.

HB 3297 empowers the governor to appoint the center’s director in consultation with the president of WVU and the advice and consent of the state Senate, with the center’s director serving for a renewable five-year term.

Miller’s contract has him beginning at WVU on Jan. 1, 2026, with a term that runs through June 30, 2027, with one-year extensions possible as long as the Legislature continues to provide funding in the general revenue budget for the Washington Center. The contract empowers Miller with budgetary control, personnel management, curriculum oversight, programming, and providing required reports to President Benson and the WVU Board of Governors, and the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Government and Finance.

According to the contract, Miller’s annualized base salary is $215,000, plus $85,000 from the center’s budget for performance of administrative duties, taking his total salary to $300,000. Miller can also award himself an annual merit increase up to 10% of his base salary, a potential annual performance bonus of 10% of total annual compensation at the director’s own discretion upon certification by an Academic Council, and up to $10,000 for pre-approved moving expenses.

Within his compensation as Washington Center director, Miller will also be paid $120,000 for a nine-month faculty salary associated with his tenured professorship in WVU’s Philosophy Department. A memorandum of understanding between Miller and WVU laying out requirements for teaching, research, and academic year service requirements is still being developed.

“The $300,000 is the director’s base salary with a faculty appointment,” said Shauna Johnson, executive director of strategic communications for WVU. “If Mr. Miller returns to only being a faculty member, he will be paid the nine-month academic year compensation of $120,000.”

According to his contract, if the Legislature chooses not to fund the Washington Center in future general revenue budgets, Miller will have a right to reappointment as a faculty member only if alternative funding can be secured, making the security of his tenured status dependent on the center’s funding.

“This faculty appointment is equally conditioned upon you continuing to serve as Director of the Washington Center, upon continuation of full funding for the Washington Center from the WV Legislature,” Dunaway and Kreider wrote.

The creation of the Washington Center and Miller’s hiring comes two years after WVU cut more than 27 different academic programs, with more than 300 positions cut as part of WVU’s “Academic Transformation” program instituted by former WVU President E. Gordon Gee. The program was put in place to address a projected $45 million structural budget deficit which has since been stabilized.