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Qiana Williams, the former chief people officer who parted ways with Oregon Health & Science University this month after 19 months on the job, will continue to collect her $550,000 salary until June 2025 unless she finds another job, according to a copy of her separation agreement.
OHSU will pay its share of her COBRA health premiums until then, too, says the agreement, which was first reported by the Portland Business Journal. She also gets a one-time payment of $75,000.
Williams resigned from OHSU, effective June 3, the agreement says. OHSU has given no reason for her departure, but it came after a series of her actions irked the academic medical center’s employees.
Last month, Williams told a group of workers that “a culture of complaint is pervasive at OHSU,” according to a recording of her comments obtained by WW. Before that, Williams hired much of her senior staff from Ohio, irking workers who wondered why she overlooked talent in Oregon.
A lawyer looking into the case of Daniel Marks, the OHSU doctor who allegedly took surreptitious pictures of women in class, also determined that Williams likely didn’t meet with another university executive to discuss the Marks case, as she said she had.
Regarding her departure, Williams has told OHSU that she has “potential claims” against the institution, the separation agreement says.
An OHSU spokeswoman declined to comment on the agreement.