A motion of non-confidence in Western University President Amit Chakma was defeated at a special meeting of the Western Senate on Friday.
The final vote saw 39 votes for and 49 votes against the non-confidence motion, with five abstentions.
After a major outcry from students and faculty at Western, the senate called a special meeting to deal with the situation.
Chakma came under fire after being paid a 'double salary' in 2014 when he did not take a scheduled academic leave.
The nearly million-dollar combined salary was revealed when Ontario's 'Sunshine List' - which names the province's top earners - was released.
Chakma has offered to re-pay the extra salary and not take the payout for a second leave he is also entitled to as part of his contract.
Chakma spoke early in the meeting, saying, "I am committed to working with you."
Also at the meeting Friday, Alison Hearn, the faculty association's president re-iterated the call for non-confidence in Chakma and the chair of the school's Board of Governors, Chirag Shah.
But student representatives still appeared split on the decision.
A speaker for the Society of Graduate Students said, "President, we can forgive you, we can love you, but you can't come back."
But another graduate student representative said, "I fully support Dr. Chakma...It is lazy of us to place all of the blame on him."
On Thursday, Chakma responded to a letter from the faculty association that said the university has failed to value students and staff.
Chakma said, "I could not agree more that the events of the last few weeks have presented an opportunity for us to create a better University. It is a chance to review and reflect upon our priorities, but most importantly it is a chance for me to listen to Western faculty, staff, students and alumni, and understand to a greater extent the challenges facing our institution."
The motion of non-confidence for Shah was also defeated, with 20 votes for, 46 against and 21 abstentions.
