Ex-HVCC president Roger Ramsammy was on track to make $300,000 a year come September.

That all ended after the Board of Trustees for Hudson Valley Community College fired him after 13Investigates reporting prompted a third-party investigation into a claim of sexual harassment.

Before his termination, Ramsammy recently signed a new contract with the college in March. He made $275,000.

13Investigates obtained a copy of his current contract through a records request. In there, it details the grounds for his termination. It’s stated in two clauses; one regarding dishonesty and the other about morals.

(d) “The commission of any act of dishonesty by the President, which relates to or affects the College; and

(e) The refusal to follow, implement, or adhere to lawful procedures or directives established by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, the Commission of Education of the State of New York, the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York or the Board.”

This means Ramsammy lied during his time as president. HVCC would not disclose any more details about the matter.

Since Ramsammy was fired under “Just Cause,” by the terms of his contract, he will not receive any further salary or benefits following his date of termination. HVCC says no changes are anticipated.

The decision to terminate Ramsammy was on June 25. It was voted on and announced to the public during the HVCC Board of Trustees montly meeting.

Ramsammy’s personal lawyer, Kevin Luibrand did not respond to 13Investigates inquiry for comment on the matter.

Ramsammy became president of the college in 2018. His yearly salary started out at $190,000. It was amended to $220,000 in October 2019; to $252,000 in April 2022; to $275,000 in March 2024.

Regarding his salary increases, HVCC states: “in March, the college researched the data comparing the salaries of community college presidents in the context of enrollment. Hudson Valley Community College ranked third highest in student headcount with a presidential salary ranked seventh. There are a number of community colleges with lower enrollment yet substantially high salaries. In addition, Dr. Ramsammy exceeded the annual tenure for college presidents nationally.”

Ramsammy’s contract states he must return any equipment, confidential or proprietary information, and material of any kind relating to the Board’s business which are the ex-president’s possession.

This includes:

• The car that was paid for by HVCC
• A smart phone paid for by HVCC
• The home office that had a laptop, printer, fax machine, and scanner. All paid for by HVCC.
• Membership to the Troy Country Club. Paid for by HVCC. The college says, “membership to the Troy Country Club is required of the college president and was held by Dr. Ramsammy’s predecessors for donor and alumni cultivation activities.”

Ramsammy was also provided housing in Troy. Hudson Valley Community College Foundation Inc. owns and operates the Alumni House, where he resided.

HVCC is currently searching for a new president. The college has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to different search firms who can help find suitable candidates; The deadline for responses are August 9.

It takes roughly 10 months to one year to find a new president.

Watch Tessa’s stories to find out what else she learned from reading Ramsammy’s contract.