RRC board of governors remain quiet beyond previous “new direction” statement.
By: Becca Myskiw
RRC’s board of governors has shed no new light on their decision to replace RRC President Paul Vogt.
Red River College Students’ Association president Josh Roopchand said the matter has to do with an employment contract, which is confidential and personal. He said the board wants to move in a different direction and insisted they are still on good terms with Vogt.
“We are hoping to just move forward with someone to fill the position,” said Roopchand.
The board named Darin Brecht as interim president after announcing Vogt’s contract would not be renewed in late July. Brecht was the vice president of finance and administration at RRC before taking on his new role.
Roopchand said he hasn’t heard comments about the change from RRC students, but he said the media has published a lot of opinion pieces on the leadership change.
Third-year Business Information Technology student Victoria Mcnab said she found out through an article and has concerns for future students.
“[Vogt] has done great things,” said Mcnab. “What’s going to happen now?”
RRCSA VP External Melissa Ghidoni said the rest of the executives on the SA board were surprised when they received the news and still only know as much as the public does about the decision to replace Vogt.
“From what I know of him, he is a very humble person,” said Ghidoni. “He didn’t act the way you would expect a CEO would.”
Ghidoni said she has faith Brecht will be a good interim president because of his background in finance, but she’s sad to see Vogt go.
Roopchand said the board of governors is trying to move forward with their decision and he doesn’t see them announcing the reasoning behind it in the future.
Vogt was hired by the college in 2015 and started with a heavy workload after Stephanie Forsyth, the president before him, claimed various personal items as business expenses during her time.
In his four years at RRC, Vogt had many accomplishments including opening the Smart Factory at NDC, creating a partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces, moving forward with sustainability practices, improving Indigenous education through bursaries and scholarships and much more. A non-exhaustive list of Vogt’s accomplishments is in
the article “Vogt’ed Out,” published by The Projector in early August.
