Just as quickly as Western University's board of governors released the terms of reference for a review of its president's salary Thursday, the faculty association is slamming it.
The association says it doesn’t go far enough to address governance and budget problems.
The review of Amit Chakma's nearly $1 million compensation package will be done by Retired Justice Stephen Goudge.
Western is promising transparency, but it may not be enough to satisfy critics.
The review will study Western's compensation practices and consider if they're in line with other universities.
“I want it to be fair and if it's fair, I think it will be best for the university and the student population they're representing,” says Western student Brendan Smith.
Western came under fire last month when the sunshine list revealed Chakma was paid double his salary in 2014. A clause in his contract allowed him to take a year's salary in lieu of one year administrative leave.
He has since returned the money and says he will not take the next allotment he's entitled to.
A statement from the faculty association says the review cannot get at the underlying governance and budgetary problems that exist on campus and much more needs to be done.
The review will look at whether other universities employ a similar practice for administrative leave. If not, what options are appropriate?
It will also consider if Western employs enough accountability and reporting for executive compensation.
The board chair, Chirag Shah, says the review will focus specifically on compensation and that it won’t be going into any of the other concerns that have been raised. At the same time, he says they're committed to transparency and will make the report public.
“I think it's pretty fair. I mean, I definitely trust Chakma to do the right thing, especially since he gave back a portion of his salary that was disputed on,” says student Geoffrey Seeman.
