Gov. Peter Shumlin said Thursday he was “very angry” about the “exorbitant” severance packages the University of Vermont’s Board of Trustees gave to outgoing President Dan Fogel and Associate Vice President Michael Schultz, both of whom resigned in the wake of revelations about the “clearly inappropriate” behavior of Rachel Kahn-Fogel, the president’s wife and Schultz’s confidant.
“We’ve got to make sure that if people leave the university under difficult circumstances that taxpayers and the university doesn’t pay exorbitant sums of money as they go out the door,” Shumlin told reporters.
The governor said the board’s approval of the compensation packages, which include the continuation of large salaries, and perquisites such as college tuition reimbursements and housing allowances, are “inexcusable” at a time “when Vermonters are struggling to pay tuition.”
Fogel will receive $457,000 for the 17 months he’s on leave, in addition to a housing allowance of $21,600 and $12,963 for a car, plus a $20,000 wellness package, according to the Burlington Free Press. When he returns to join the English department, he will receive an annual salary of $195,000, or $80,000 more than his fellow professors.
Schultz, who tendered his resignation on Wednesday, will continue to receive his full salary of $155,000 a year, plus benefits, through next year. In addition, his severance package includes full tuition for his three children who are nearing college age, according to documents provided upon request by the university. The tuition remission will cover the cost of eight semesters at UVM for each of Schultz’s children.
“Both in the case of President Fogel and Michael Schulz, they both left under difficult circumstances, both left at their own choice,” Shumlin said. “They wouldn’t have left if circumstances hadn’t been what they were.”
Shumlin said he learned about the payouts through press reports. He said he wished he had asked about the compensation packages. “You know, live and learn,” Shumlin said.
The governor said the university needs to change its policies for employees who resign under dubious circumstances.
“I’ve heard their argument; the contracts stipulate that when they’re resigning, we’ll change the contract, folks,” Shumlin continued. “It isn’t that tough. If you leave under good graces, clearly there should be compensation while you go on to another job that’s a norm in universities, but if you’re choosing to resign or you’re leaving because of actions most people wish hadn’t (happened), those provisions shouldn’t apply.”
When asked why he didn’t attend the trustee meetings as an honorary member of the board, Shumlin demurred. “I gotta tell you, I’ve got my hands full running state government,” he said. “I don’t’ have time to run the university and do the job that’s in front of me, that I’m so privileged to have as governor.”
Shumlin also criticized the makeup of the board. In his view, lawmakers, who appropriate millions of dollars to the university and the state colleges, shouldn’t also serve as trustees on the boards of the state’s higher education institutions. Shumlin characterized that dual role as an inherent conflict of interest, and he said he would support Senate bill, S.71, which would eliminate legislators as members of the boards of trustees for the University of Vermont and the Vermont State Colleges. The bill was introduced in the last legislative session by Sens. Hinda Miller, Dick Sears, Tim Ashe and Peter Galbraith.
The governor said the state could come up with “creative ways” to allocate money to the university. When asked what he meant, Shumlin chose not to elaborate except to say the university needs to re-examine its priorities. “I think with new president it would be worth asking, how can we build parts of university that need strengthening?”
In an aside, Shumlin said he suggested to Fogel that he could put the university back in the “good graces” of Vermonters by creating a scholarship fund for Vermont students from part of his compensation. Shumlin said his proposal didn’t generate a favorable response.
Shumlin made the remarks at his weekly press conference, held this week in Burlington City Hall.
