Prior to Sanjay Sharma’s departure for a higher paying administrative post at the University of Vermont, he earned over $42,000 in salary and claimed $33,230 in expenses for his last two months of employment.
Two weeks ago, The Concordian reported that the former Dean of the John Molson School of Business ended his mandate with a payout of the administrative leave he was entitled to that amounted to $96,245. During the 2011-2012 academic year, Sharma worked for two months at Concordia before departing for the University of Vermont.
Before Sharma left Concordia, he claimed an additional $33,230 as well. University spokesperson Chris Mota confirmed that the amount consists of taxable benefits, unused vacation time and a part-time teaching contract.
“It’s money paid to him, which he was entitled to for the period he was there,” said Mota.
Amongst the university’s deans, Sharma declared more than his counterparts in other faculties did for the entire year, with his successor Alan Hochstein expensing $23,140 over 10 months.
In 12 months, Dean Brian Lewis of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences submitted $15,502, Dean Robin Drew of the Faculty of Engineering claimed $15,653, Dean Catherine Wild of the Faculty of Fine Arts declared $12,938 and Noel Burke, of Continuing Education, asked for less than $10,000.
The dean of graduate studies and interim VP of research and graduate studies, Graham Carr, declared the second most in taxable benefits at over $23,000 for the entire year.
This amount of $33,230 does not include the additional payout from the administrative leave nor does it include the salary Sharma collected during the end of his contract. Sharma’s contract for the 2011-2012 year was over $252,000—however, he was entitled only to the amount he worked for. Therefore, Sharma earned approximately $42,000 in total for his last two months at Concordia.
The academic year commenced May 1, 2011 where Sharma earned a salary, benefits and claimed expenses until his mandate at the University of Vermont started on July 1 of the same year. Sharma voluntarily broke his five-year contract at Concordia so he could fill the position of dean of the School of Business Administration for a starting salary of $320,000 U.S.—the second highest paid administrator at the American institution.
Pramodita Sharma, Sharma’s spouse, who also used to teach at Concordia, now holds a position at the University of Vermont where she is a professor earning a base salary of $180,000.
When Sanjay Sharma, former dean of the John Molson School of Business, left Concordia for an administrative position at the University of Vermont in Burlington in 2011, he took $96,245 with him as part of a contractual obligation.
Concordia University provides academic deans with the option of an administrative leave at the end of their five-year term that allots to six months of their base salary and for deans serving two terms, the leave amounts to a year’s compensation.
Administrative leaves allow deans to pursue other academic interests if they so choose, according to university spokesperson Chris Mota. As part of his contract, Sharma was entitled to a six-month break.
“For five years they don’t teach, network, research, any of that,” said Mota. “In those contracts they acknowledge the fact they made a decision to be an administrator.”
This contractual agreement applies to academic senior administrators but is not extended to non-academic positions such as university rectors. The agreement does not force deans to take a leave because they are owed the additional six months pay at the end of their contract.
These leaves to pursue other interests, or the option of taking the payout as per the contractual agreement, is incurred by the operating budget of the university.
Dean Catherine Wild of the Faculty of Fine Arts also claimed part of the pay she was entitled to from the university that year but worked the entire year. Wild earned $196,556 as her salary and Concordia provided her with $16,616 as the money owed as part of the leave. Wild is now serving a second term as dean for the university.
Following the announcement of his departure in March 2011, Sharma voluntarily broke the five-year contract so he could fill the position of dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of Vermont and only completed four years at Concordia. Therefore, Sharma completed four years of his term and still received the six months pay, or $96,245, although his new employment started immediately on July 1, 2011. Sharma’s starting salary at the University of Vermont, according to the Burlington Free Press, was $320,000 U.S. and he was the second-highest paid official that year behind its president.
These contractual obligations do not include the taxable benefits or expenses in direct relation to duties that senior administrators, non-academic and academic, are entitled to.
Concordia University’s Board of Governors unanimously adopted all recommendations of an external governance review addressing the departure of personnel at the senior administrative level and strengthening transparency.
The review was ordered in March, prior to then-Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s letter to the BoG criticizing Concordia’s excessive spending. The Charest government also fined Concordia $2 million for a lack of responsibility with public funds.
The 23-page external review proposed 17 recommendations for Concordia to implement. A total of seven recommendations focus on the process for reaching a decision on the departure of top personnel, six on the procedure for negotiating a settlement and four on the control of information, confidentiality and communication.
The review emphasizes the lack of policy and formal process for removal of high-ranking administrators and officers, as well a perceived lack of transparency by Board of Governors members that contributed to a “climate of distrust.”
A main recommendation is for the creation of a formal, confidential annual evaluation process for the president of the university.
The report revealed that a formal process for reaching a decision for the removal of a senior officer was not followed in two of three cases involving either former Chief Financial Officer Larry English, former Vice-President of Advancement and Alumni Affairs Kathy Assayag, or Woodsworth.
The review advised that the decision for the removal of a president should follow a formal process set out in the by-laws including a closed session discussion at the BoG level, followed by a vote. The current by-laws are unclear on the process of negotiation with the BoG regarding the option to remove a president.
Furthermore, it was suggested that the dismissal of senior administrators that report to the president such as vice-president and deans should rest on the president. The president must consult with the HR committee before reaching a decision. The report recommended that vice-presidents should form a decision regarding the removal of other top employees such as associate vice-presidents and senior directors.
The report also recommended that teaching rights should also be postponed until a severance is fully paid or for a specific period of time following the settlement. The recommendation is likely a reference to Woodsworth returning to the classroom in January after her ambiguous resignation urged by the BoG in December 2010. Concordia released a statement explaining that this suggestion has been in place for all new contracts since winter 2012.
In addition, the external review called for comprehensive public communication since the compensation for senior employees is of a public nature. The recommendations instructed that the university should report the factual reasons for removal or dismissal to the public.
The review also reported a breach of confidentiality within the BoG, on page seven, claiming there was a leak of information. It was suggested that BoG members adhere to good practices in confidentiality in the future.
“The report does state that there were concerns over the breach of confidentiality of information at the BoG level and stated that leaks were reported,” said Christine Mota, spokesperson for the university. “The report however doesn’t give any specifics about the alleged breaches or leaks.”
According to BoG Chair Norman Hébert, the board has already implemented some of the suggestions made by the report. Hébert told The Concordian the measures will be fulfilled in the following months. The BoG adopted the recommendations Friday, months after PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was supposed to deliver the report. The delay was due to a lack of information “regarding the benchmarking of other universities” and holiday schedules.
Hébert believes the proposal will help Concordia fill in the gaps.
“We talked about transparency and engagement and we’re all volunteers, and we’re doing this because we love Concordia,” said Hébert. “Transparency and engagement at the board is leading by example and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The review did not examine Woodsworth’s predecessor Claude Lajeunesse, who left in 2007 two years into his five-year contract. The external review examined the turnover and severance packages of the following Concordia administrators, in order of departure:
– Ted Nowak, former internal audit director (Sept. 2009)
– Saad Zubair, former assistant internal audit director (Sept. 2009)
– Larry English, former chief financial officer (Dec. 2009)
– Jean Brisebois, former security director (Dec. 2009)
– Kathy Assayag, former vice-president of advancement and alumni affairs (Sept. 2010)
– Judith Woodsworth, former president and vice-Chancellor (Dec. 2010)
