Two weeks later, university president Daniel Weeks, who joined UNBC in July 2014, announced he would take an immediate and indefinite medical leave. His announcement came one week after faculty introduced a non-confidence motion against him.
The following month, Weeks officially resigned as president. Days later, UNBC faculty passed the non-confidence vote against its former president.
Payne, the university’s vice-president of research, was appointed interim president. Since then, he has met every other week with the faculty association’s president and vice-president, in addition to meeting regularly with campus unions.
He said he puts relationships at the top of the four pillars he sees as the university’s foundation, followed by vision, reputation and financial sustainability.