Red River College board, province silent on CEO’s sudden ouster

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This article was published 09/08/2019 (2635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Red River College’s board of directors remained tight-lipped Friday about the removal of chief executive officer Paul Vogt, and the province continued to deny any involvement.

Nearly two weeks after Vogt announced in an email to RRC staff that his term would not be renewed when it expired next year, the college announced Thursday that an acting CEO had been named in his place.

The board has yet to explain why it decided not to renew Vogt’s contract other than to say it was “looking to go in another direction.”

That has led to speculation that Vogt was targeted because of his ties to the NDP. The former Rhodes Scholar, who pursued graduate studies at Oxford and Princeton universities, served as a policy secretary to cabinet under Manitoba’s NDP government from 1999 to 2005 and then served as province’s top civil servant from 2005 to 2013.

He was hired by the college in August 2015 at a starting annual salary of $225,000.

Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen declined an interview request Friday.

A spokesman for the minister said Goertzen would not be speaking on the matter, as the government had “no role in the decision” not to renew Vogt’s contract. The spokesman could not say when Goertzen learned of RRC board’s decision.

The board said in a statement to college staff on Aug. 2 that its decision was unanimous and that “political direction did not guide this decision.”

Vogt could not be reached for comment Friday.

In his memo to staff, Vogt said he had hoped to remain with the college beyond next August, when his contract was to expire. There was no suggestion in the memo that his departure was imminent.

Premier Brian Pallister has also denied any involvement by his government in the decision not to renew Vogt’s contract.

At an unrelated news conference on Friday, Pallister would not comment on whether he was concerned that taxpayers could bear the brunt of a potential wrongful dismissal suit or the prospect that the outgoing CEO might receive a year’s salary for no work.

“I have no assurances that people can’t sue. As you know, it’s a right of people to threaten to sue,” Pallister said.

“You raised a single issue of one HR decision made by a board and I respect the board’s decision, and I respect the individual (Vogt) who they made the decision concerning,” the premier said.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said Vogt has done “a great job” at the college, and “there’s no justification” for getting rid of him.

“Frankly, the board needs to explain what happened and whether the order for this to happen came from the premier’s office,” he said Friday.

While the premier has denied involvement, “it may actually be (that)… somebody else was asked to deliver the message,” Lamont said.

Darin Brecht, the college’s vice-president of finance and administration, has been named acting CEO.

According to contract details made public when Vogt was hired, he was to receive annual percentage increases in pay equal to those enjoyed by unionized staff. In addition, the board of directors could choose to pay Vogt merit increases of three per cent a year.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca