The Western faculty association is turning up the heat on the university, moving toward having their members take a vote of no-confidence about school president Amit Chakma and board president, Chirag Shah.
It was revealed on Friday on the Sunshine List that Chakma received $420,000 worth of salary and benefits in 2014, but received the same amount again for not taking a leave of absence built into his contract.
Faculty association members say their concern isn't just about the money, it's about the way the university administration is conducting itself.
"They contravened all the rules. And I don't want the president of my university being a law breaker,” says Philip Doyle, a health science faculty member.
"The integrity has been violated. I don't like it. The guy needs to go."
Faculty association president Alison Hearn also says it’s not just about the money, but what it represents.
"Which is a tone-deafness to the situation here on campus - to the fact that may faculties have been facing budget cuts. To the fact that students are facing reduced choices in classes, increasing class sizes."
Graduate student Haley Fallowfield says the payout is galling after students were looking for a tuition break while doing research for the university.
"President Chakma's stance on this was pretty much, essentially, if you can't afford to be here then that's not our problem."
Political science professor Andrew Sancton is surprised how unprepared the university was to the fallout.
"They knew it was going to be released. And there was absolutely no preparation, no plan, to defend, the indefensible. I mean it's unbelievable that with the administration the size that it is that they could be so unbelievably incompetent."
