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Concordia University gave a $235,000 severance payout to an executive hired last year to help deal with budget cuts. Sonia Trudel had been on the job for 90 days when she left the university.

Trudel, a chartered professional accountant, joined Concordia on Aug. 17, first as a special adviser to the university’s president, and then, as of Sept. 21, as chief financial officer.

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When it hired Trudel, Concordia said it was “impressed by her experience, which includes working for public institutions that have faced funding cuts similar to those we are dealing with.”

On Nov. 16, Concordia announced Trudel had “stepped down by mutual agreement.”

Now, Concordia has confirmed it gave Trudel $235,000 in severance pay, the equivalent of one-year’s salary.

Photo by Concordia University

Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota could not say why Trudel left. “We honoured the terms of her contract — that’s all I can say,” Mota said.

“That’s too much money for someone who stayed for just three months,” said engineering professor Ted Stathopoulos, president of the Concordia University Faculty Association. “I’m surprised.”