University of Northern BC's past president reported the second highest travel expenses out of 25 post-secondary institutions across the province during a two-year period.
George Iwama claimed $225,603.47 between 2012 and 2013.
The advocacy group Canadian Taxpayers Federation made 25 access to information requests for post-secondary institution presidents and reported its findings Monday.
The scathing take on the compiled B.C. expense reports – entitled Screwed U Dean's List of Waste – criticizes the combined $2.4 million in presidential travel costs.
UNBC was second only to UBC, whose president spent more than $350,000 on travel.
"To see UNBC that high came as a real surprise," said the federation's B.C. director Jordan Bateman, highlighting one flight between Prince George and Vancouver that cost $2,181.
"I think we could probably fly four or five times, an average person, for $2,181."
Bateman said he expected larger institutions like Simon Fraser University or the University of Victoria to top Prince George's university.
But Rob van Adrichem, the university's vice president of external relations, said student population has nothing to do with a university's travel budget.
"It's a reflection of our location and mission more than it is a function of our size. I would argue that size of institution actually has very little to do with it," said van Adrichem, highlighting UNBC's international recruitment, research commitments, its "northern profile" and regional travel requirements as many of the reasons for the trips.
"These are all significant things and they require the president's attention and often that's much better in person than sometimes in person, than by the phone or via email," he said.
Van Adrichem said the $2,181 Vancouver trip was supposed to continue to eastern Canada.
"That leg was cancelled," he said. "That's why that trip to Vancouver looks so expensive."
Bateman also highlighted the fact that Iwama also claimed costs to bring his wife Marilyn on trips, who at the time was an adjunct professor in First Nations studies at UNBC.
"Only two school presidents billed for trips for their spouse," Bateman said. "UNBC was one of them and the president billed expenses, including airfare, on nine different trips."
That amounted to $18,447.87, almost $12,000 of which was connected to a trip visiting Greenland and Hong Kong universities.
Van Adrichem said it isn't unusual for spouses to tag along.
"I think that the spouse of the president would be seen in many ways as an ambassador for the university even though he or she is unpaid," said van Adrichem, adding all expenses are approved by the chair of the Board of Governors, who would have signed off on all nine trips.
But Bateman said the $2.4 million expenditure is "a big financial hit" to B.C.'s institutions.
"It wouldn't solve all their funding problems but one wonders when the president travels this lavishly, what kind of message does that communicate to the rest of the organization?" he said. "I think that some of these university president have gotten very comfortable travelling in a very lavish way."
Van Adrichem wouldn't comment on Bateman's characterization of traveling as "lavish," calling it an opinion.
"I don't know what is lavish or what is appropriate, all I know is that it's a very difficult thing to balance between everything else that the president needs to do, part of that absolutely is advancing it outside of Prince George and that involves ... a lot of travel."
While Bateman isn't calling for a moratorium on travel, he said his organization is asking for accountability.
"What we are saying is you need to travel in a way that befits a public servant," said Bateman, adding he thinks all expenses should be publicly disclosed. "I think that level of scrutiny would then hopefully alter some of these president's travel plans, they would start to think a little more conservatively about how they want to spend money."
Click below to see the travel and business expense summary report:
