By
Stanley Tromp, Globe and Mail. Aug.
3, 2077
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Tony Knowles, the former
president of the British
Columbia Institute of
Technology, was paid a severance of $397,568 when he resigned last May, ending
a stormy term.
The settlement also released
and indemnified Dr. Knowles from any legal action arising from his BCIT employment, and, in turn, he gave the same release
to BCIT.
Details of his settlement were obtained
through a freedom-of-information
request after BCIT refused
to release it.
Dr. Knowles's appointment
began in 2000 and was due
to end in June, 2009. He
announced on May 17 that he was stepping down "to pursue other interests
and spend more time with family and friends."
In 2005-06, Dr. Knowles earned
$248,642 with $21,049 in
expenses.
During his term, the amount BCIT spent on legal fees climbed
from a low of $278,176 in 2000-01, his first year in office, to $979,495 in 2006-07, - a grand total of $4.38-million. The forestry
industry also deplored BCIT's
termination of its forestry
program.
A report on BCIT from summer, 2006, by
external consultant Mel Weinstein said, "There have been precipitous
departures over the past few years, primarily of managers: There is a climate of uncertainty, especially among
associate deans."
Staffers' estimates of the numbers of senior managers who left BCIT in those years varies from 40 to 70. BCIT records say that there were
38 severance agreements
made from April, 2001, to March, 2006. The figures for 2006-07 have not yet
been published, but the BCIT
freedom-of-information
office says it expects there will be five severances.
The Globe and Mail also
obtained an internal BCIT
employee opinion survey of
145 people completed in
April, 2007.
In a chapter on BCIT's "culture," 48
respondents voiced pride and happiness in their jobs, while "30 comments talked about high levels of workload and the accompanying
effects, e.g., burnout and stress; 24 comments expressed concern regarding the
termination of employees,
usually managers, with little understanding by others for the rationale. A
further 20 comments described an environment characterized by mistrust of management, fear of penalty for unsuccessful
innovation, and safety though silence."
Verna Magee-Shepherd is
acting as BCIT president
until a new one is appointed.
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