All Posts Tagged With: "Kathleen Scherf"
President fired from Interior B.C. university defends record
Decision followed an annual review of Kathleen Scherf’s leadership
The outgoing president of Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., is defending her year in office after she was fired by the school’s board of directors.
Kathleen Scherf had been president and vice-chancellor since September 2008, but the board of directors said it lost faith in her leadership.
Scherf said she respects the board’s authority to dismiss her, but “thought my performance was excellent given the results.”
Reading from a prepared statement, Scherf listed off accomplishments from the past year.
“We broke all previous campus United Way campaigns, raising just short of $64,000; during my time, TRU’s fundraising activities increased 342 per cent from the 12 months previous,” she said.
“And finally, we were able to bring the first new law school in 35 years in Canada to TRU.”
The board’s decision followed an annual review of her leadership during the past three months.
Scherf is known for her often colourful demeanour, from referring to other people as “dude” to keeping bold-coloured streaks in her hair.
However, the board has insisted her eccentricities weren’t the reason she was fired.
Scherf will receive nine months of severance worth $168,000, and she is allowed to return to the school to teach if she wants – an option Scherf said she’s keeping open.
Scherf was the school’s fifth president.
Before moving to Kamloops, she was a dean at the University of Calgary and had previously taught at the University of British Columbia and the University of New Brunswick.
- The Canadian Press
BC throne speech promises cash injection, new law school
New funds for colleges and universities announced after last year’s surprise cuts
British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell is promising new funding for the province’s colleges and universities less than a year after hitting those institutions with surprise funding cuts.
In Monday’s Speech from the Throne, which opened the new session of the province’s legislative assembly, the Liberal government promised new funding for colleges and universities, “green” research, post-secondary infrastructure, and the creation of a new law school at Thompson Rivers University.
British Columbia is only weeks from the official start of a provincial election campaign. Voters will go to the polls May 12.
The speech did not include the specific amount that will be earmarked for new post-secondary spending.
Last year, the Campbell government surprised B.C. universities by cutting funding while claiming they were merely re-allocating funds. It remains to be seen if the increase will be an inflationary increase, intended to fill the gap created last year, or an effective increase in funding.
Gordon Campbell announced plans to create a law school at Thompson Rivers University (formerly known as the University College of the Cariboo). The law school will be located in Kamloops, with degrees granted by the University of Calgary.
TRU president Kathleen Scherf says the new law school will focus on Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law. TRU hopes to recruit students to the school in 2010.
The Kamloops region will be a key battleground in the coming election. The New Democratics hold three seats in the region, with the governing Liberals holding the other two. Both Liberal seats were won in closely contested races.
Funding details are expected in the provincial budget which will be unveiled Tuesday.
