Internal emails from Sault College leadership reveal that four staff members, primarily involved in international student recruitment, are no longer employed by the school.
As of publication, Sault College's media relations team and president David Orazietti have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
In an internal email shared with SooToday from multiple sources, the college's executive leadership made staff aware of some recent changes.
"As part of a reduction in our administrative workforce in a strategic response to financial pressures caused by a decline in International student enrolment, there have been some changes to our administrative team," said the email, which was attributed to Orazietti, as well as Catia Longo and Sherri Smith.
The four named staff members who are no longer with the college are Rich Peters, Matt Casola, Fang Wang, and Carla Casarin.
"While these decisions are difficult, it is necessary to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of our institution and to continue providing high-quality education for all students," said the executive leadership in the email.
Peters was referred to as the college's vice-president of strategic international development in an April 12, 2023 Northern Ontario Business story.
At that time, Orazietti lauded the increasing number of international students within the student body and mentioned Peters by name.
“The diversification of our student population is essential. It is good news for our college and it’s good news for our community.
"Rich Peters, who’s our vice-president of strategic international development, is doing a very good job diversifying the countries from which our international students are arriving and that strengthens the entire organization and we will continue to be reliant on international students,” Orazietti said in the article.
In 2024, Peters' salary was listed as $200,126 on Ontario's public sector salary disclosure, known as the Sunshine List. His position was listed at that time as vice-president of strategic enrolment, partnerships and employment.
Casola was listed as director of safety, housing and risk management for Sault College on the 2024 Sunshine List with a salary of $128,595. In the previous year, he was listed as manager of health, safety and security with a salary of $161,170.
Wang is still listed on the Sault College website as manager of international recruitment, partnerships and project development. Her name does not appear during a search of the Sunshine List.
Casarin's LinkedIn profile lists her as administrative assistant to the vice-president of strategic enrolment, partnerships and employment. From August of 2022 to September of 2023 she held the position of international strategic development administrator.
In December, Sault College announced its most recent suspension of a number of programs, including:
- Advanced Project Management – Strategic Leadership
- Project Management
- Construction Project Management
- Global Business Management
- Gerontology
- Climate Change Mitigation
- Environmental Sustainability Analysis
The federal government's international student cap, announced in January, and reductions in post graduation work permits for international students have led to a lower number of international students at Sault College.
Sault College — along with the rest of the post-secondary education sector in Canada — had relied heavily on international students in recent years.
— with files from Darren Taylor