Dive Summary:
- North Dakota's Board of Higher Education voted Monday to buy out University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani's contract for the full amount, releasing him from a three-year deal with an annual salary of $349,000 through 2015.
- Shirvani asked the board last week to either buy his contract out or to back him up and grant a three year contract extension, as students, faculty and state lawmakers had criticized his leadership style as overly aggressive and passed votes of no confidence.
- Shirvani leaves office on July 15 but will remain available until January as a consultant, and he says he's proud of what he accomplished after being given a mandate to overhaul the state's higher education system, including developing a comprehensive student success plan and landing a 37% budget increase.
From the article:
... Rep. Bob Skarphol, R-Tioga, a Shirvani supporter, said he’s disappointed but not surprised by the board’s decision.
“I think the chancellor is the only one who provided North Dakota the opportunity to take pride in its higher education system,” Skarphol told The Associated Press. “And I think from this point moving forward, we can look forward to the same mediocrity we’ve had in the past.” ...