More on Mathur

OC Reg Mission Viejo reporter Niyaz Pirani has updated his article on Mathur: College district chancellor resigns.

Here’s what he’s added:

...Under the terms of the settlement, Mathur’s last day at the helm of Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges will be June 30. His contract would have expired on June 30, 2011.

He will be paid a base salary of $237,261, plus cost-of-living adjustments, for the remaining year of his contract. Expense reimbursements, a $700 monthly car allowance and electronics equipment for a home office will cease.

Additionally, Mathur will recoup up to $25,000 in attorney’s fees he paid in relation to the separation agreement within 30 days of signing the deal.

If he desires, he could return to the community college district as a part-time faculty member after June 2011.
. . .
[Don] Wagner, who was one of the five in support of the resignation, said he wouldn’t talk about personnel issues or his job satisfaction regarding a district employee.

In the separation agreement, it is made clear that neither [Raghu] Mathur nor trustees are allowed to talk publicly or privately about the terms of the separation, and that neither party may make disparaging remarks about the other.

“He was a faculty member, and a fine one for a number of years,” Wagner said. “He may come back to teaching at some point. It’s entirely up to him whether he does that or pursues something else in the future.”

John Williams, a trustee who disagreed with the resignation, said he voted for it “to protect Chancellor Mathur’s interests.”

“I voted for the agreement because I was looking out for his best interests, knowing that the majority of the board favored his departure,” Williams said.

“I’ve known Raghu for some time and I thought he did a good job,” Williams added. “ … You work for an elected board and you need a majority of those board members to vote to keep you. In this case, the majority of the board felt they wanted to have a change, so they voted to.”

Roy Bauer, an IVC philosophy professor named in Mathur’s 2000 lawsuit, said he was pleased by the announcement.

“We have attempted to get the board to see Mr. Mathur’s limitations and his character for many years,” Bauer said. “I think I’ll just leave it at that. There’s no point, now that he’s going, to lay it on thick.”

“We now look forward to a careful and honest search for our new chancellor,” he said.