No severance, but HVCC president to get $69,000
TROY — The former president of Hudson Valley Community College is not eligible for a standard severance package because he was fired, according to HVCC officials, but he will collect more than $69,000 as per his contract.
Roger Ramsammy’s contract called for him to be paid while on administrative leave and then for 60 days if he lost his job for cause, hence the extra $69,000. He’ll be officially terminated, with no more pay, on Aug. 24.
Ramsammy has been off the job since May 15.
He was placed on administrative leave after an employee filed a sexual harassment complaint against him.
The board hired an outside law firm to investigate. That firm’s findings led to the board firing Ramsammy on June 25.
His contract specified what the college would do if he was fired, and the Board of Trustees is following that agreement.
“There’s a 60-day termination clause,” said HVCC spokesman Dennis Kennedy. “There’s no additional severance or package or pay provided by the board or college.”
The lack of severance was first reported by WNYT.
If Ramsammy had instead left the college by “mutual agreement,” or if the Board of Trustees had decided to fire him for “other than just cause,” he would have been paid $275,000. That’s one year’s pay. He also would have received the amount of money equaling one year of the college’s contributions to his health insurance.
Ramsammy’s attorney, Kevin Luibrand, did not immediately return a call seeking comment
Tuesday about whether Ramsammy would challenge the severance decision. However, Kennedy said the college has not been notified of any plan to contest it.
Ramsammy and HVCC signed his latest contract on March 30, which before the investigation extended his employment to 2029.
The Board of Trustees has not divulged details of the complaint against Ramsammy, citing privacy concerns. But board Chairman Neil Kelleher called it “inappropriate behavior” that would not be tolerated.
Ramsammy was hired in 2017 as the college’s seventh president. He is a longtime educator and administrator, and previously led one of Miami Dade College’s eight campuses in Florida. His experience in higher education spans more than 30 years, and includes time as a professor of microbiology, anatomy and physiology, chair of biology, associate dean of STEM, and dean of academic affairs at Palm Beach State College.
Meanwhile, a new HVCC president probably won’t be hired for 10 to 12 months, Kennedy said.
The Board of Trustees is accepting proposals for search firms now, with a deadline of Aug. 9. Once a firm is chosen, the position will be advertised “broadly,” Kennedy said.
A search committee will consider applicants.
“Typically, these can take 10 months to a year,” he said.
In the meantime, Louis Coplin, who recently retired as the college’s vice president of student affairs, will act as officer-in-charge of the college. He is expected to run the college until the next president is chosen.