Red Deer College president Joel Ward said he won’t criticize a provincial plan to cap his salary.
“I agree with what they’re doing. Even if I think (the cap) is maybe a little low, the principle behind it is right. This is the public, not the private sector,” said Ward, who makes $337,000 annually after 14 years at the helm.
In two years time, his salary will be reduced, under new provincial rules set by Alberta’s Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt. As RDC is becoming a university, such as MacEwan or Mount Royal, the maximum salary for a president of that type of institution will be $305,000.
The provincial New Democrats decided to step in with salary caps after studies showed presidents of the universities of Alberta and Calgary were doubling their $400,000 salaries to about $800,000 with bonuses. This makes them among the best paid top post-secondary administrators in the country.
Perks or bonuses can’t be given to post-secondary presidents under the new provincial rules, which ban such things as giving houses or cars for personal use, or golf club memberships.
RDC never gave bonuses, said RDC’s Board of Governor’s chair Morris Flewwelling. His board actually went a step further Thursday by passing rules limiting the freebies sometimes presented to administrators. Gifts can’t exceed $1,000 in total, annually, lest there’s a perception of influence or bias.
Flewwelling doesn’t believe the salary cap will limit future candidates from applying for a president’s position. Neither does Ward, who’s thinking about retiring in the next few years.
Preparations are underway to make RDC a university in three years. No new name has yet been chosen, but Ward said monikers of well-known Alberta sites and Albertans are being considered to give the local institution national awareness and appeal.
Committees are working on program planning, student support services, and quality controls needed to gain recognition from Universities Canada.