NOTE: the “princely administrative leaves” are described in 2013-01-17 University of Saskatchewan pays former senior executives. MacKinnon, Florizone receive total of $1.3 million
By Edward D. Tymchatyn
The University of Saskatchewan’s V-P of human resources and the vice-chair of the board of governors recently compared the princely administrative leaves awarded to departed senior U of S executives with sabbaticals awarded to faculty (SP, Jan. 13).
A former U of S senior executive made the same comparison in a letter to the editor. The comparison is specious.
The Faculty Association’s collective agreement says sabbatical leave is granted to faculty member to enhance “their contribution to the university on their return.” To apply for a sabbatical, a faculty member must have served the university six years since the last sabbatical.
The application requires the member to outline his/ her sabbatical program together with the expected benefits to the member and the university. If it’s judged to be acceptable by the dean (or by the dean’s committee) the leave shall be awarded.
A sabbatical may be delayed for up to one year if the dean deems the faculty member to be irreplaceable. That’s the only way faculty members can bank service toward a subsequent sabbatical.
The faculty member must return to the university after a sabbatical for a period at least equal to the length of the leave. The person must also file a report with the dean as to the accomplishments achieved during the leave.
Sabbatical is normally at 90 per cent of regular salary. If the person gets outside remuneration during the sabbatical, then the university will reduce that member’s pay so total remuneration is approximately 100 per cent of normal salary.
When the member leaves the university, any accumulated service toward a sabbatical dies because a leave at that point would be of no value to the university.
Edward D. Tymchatyn Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, U of S