A high-ranking official at Capilano University resigned on Tuesday, April 7, following an investigation by the Squamish Reporter into a series of changes made to his official academic biography over the years.
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Toran Savjord, the University’s Vice President of Strategic Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Effectiveness, stepped down Tuesday afternoon. Savjord previously worked at Quest University as a Vice President and contributed to the design of the now-defunct university’s curriculum. He was also involved with Cornerstone Developments and the Squamish Clean Technology Association, and is on the board of directors at the local Coast Mountain Academy.
The University confirmed the resignation in a brief statement, thanking Savjord for his “eight-plus years of service,” but refused to address specific questions regarding its hiring and verification processes. The university declined to confirm whether Savjord had the bachelor’s degree in human kinetics he claimed on his bio.
A Narrative in Flux: Degrees change in 34 days
The Wayback Machine, which archives the internet, shows that Savjord’s official biography on the University’s website underwent a significant transformation in little over a month in 2019.
Archived records show that in September 2019, Savjord’s bio stated he began his post-secondary education at Capilano and “completed his graduate work at UBC.” The record in September made no mention of a completed bachelor’s degree. Thirty-four days later, in October 2019, the biography was updated to claim Savjord “went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in human kinetics and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA)” at the University of British Columbia.
His most recent biography, which has since been removed from the website, retained the bachelor’s degree but stated that he “continued on with studies at the University of British Columbia.”
MBA degree ‘website refresh’ issue: Savjord
When reached for comment last week, prior to his resignation, Savjord said it was a website refresh issue that led to the inclusion of the MBA in his biography.
“We did a website refresh a couple of years ago, and the person doing it listed incorrect info on the new page,” Savjord said. “When it was discovered, we reverted it back to the correct info that was there originally, which has my current credentials. Continued on with studies, refers to some not-for-credit courses that I took regarding coaching.”
In an email, Layne Christensen, the university’s Senior Communications and Government Relations Officer, said the MBA reference was inaccurate and was removed after it was reported. “The biography was updated in 2023 after an inaccuracy was reported,” she said in an email. However, the University didn’t specify the exact process it followed to verify educational credentials for VP-level appointments.
“Capilano University follows established recruitment and hiring processes aligned with academic and professional standards, which include qualifications being assessed against the requirements of the position. All current processes involve credential verification,” she said in her email.
When asked whether Savjord’s educational credentials were verified before or after his hiring, Christensen stated in the email that he met the requirements based on his prior executive-level experience and education. “A master’s degree was not required for the role at the time,” her email noted.
Capilano University: Evasion, then silence.
Finally, the University did not explain why a bachelor’s degree in human kinetics was added two years after Savjord started his position in 2017. And when asked to confirm whether Savjord had a bachelor’s degree in human kinetics and the year he received it, or whether the degree was verified when he was hired in 2017, the university chose not to respond, and said that Savjord had resigned.
“The university will not be providing additional details regarding Mr. Savjord,” Christensen said. “Capilano University confirms that Toran Savjord, vice-president, strategic planning, assessment & institutional effectiveness, has resigned from his role.”
Capilano University receives about $50 million in annual provincial funding. In 2023, Capilano University (CapU) announced it had reached an agreement with Primacorp Ventures and purchased its university campus property in Squamish. The Province paid $48 million for this purchase.
Savjord joined Capilano University in 2017 as Vice-President, Strategic Planning, Assessment & Institutional Effectiveness. According to the resume removed by Capilano University, he also helped create programs and developed certificates, diplomas, and degrees for colleges and universities throughout BC.
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Squamish Reporter Did him Dirty
How can you justify that comment? He fraudulently presented himself to have educational credentials he has not earned while in the employ of a university, the very institution from which he did not graduate, ever.
Would you want a surgeon operating on you with a faked resume and no actual legitimate skills in their ‘area of expertise’?
Absolutely ridiculous comparison. Why would it matter about his credentials for that position. If he does a good job, then it does not matter. Far different than the knowledge of a surgeon. Most of us know now that school credentials dont really mean anything except for certain careers. That position he had just needs a person that can do the job.
So anyone who can do a ‘good job’ should just be able to work anywhere they want to work?
Don’t want to get your red-seal, no worries, you can just take a position as an electrician because you think you’ll do a ‘good job’. No actual training in HR policies and corporate legal responsibilities, no problem, accept a job with a company based on your own self-belief that you’ll do a ‘good job’; I’m sure you won’t create any chaos or cause harm based on your complete lack of qualifications because you know you’ll do a ‘good job’.
What a ridiculous comment, education matters, you can’t simply accept any job available based on your own inflated self-worth, you actually need to be qualified.
School credentials do matter, education does matter.
You do know that school credentials doesn’t necessarily mean post-secondary, right?
There are very few jobs that truly require no further training after high school and even fewer that should be undertaken simply because the applicant thinks they can do a ‘good job’.
Lifeguard? I wouldn’t want anyone without the proper qualifications.
Accountant? I feel like this is one that is important to be qualified.
Firefighter? Yup, need training and to be qualified.
Dentist? I’m pretty sure you don’t want someone who thinks they’d be good with a drill messing around in your mouth without credentials.
Engineer? Happy they are qualified when I drive over a bridge or lift off in a plane.
Plumber? Needs skills.
Even if he could have done the job well, if those credentials were a factor in his hiring then he lied to get ahead of other people who could also have done the job and didn’t lie about their credentials.
This university is a joke. I live in one of the old quest university buildings on Mamquam rd. The university is a GHOST TOWN. The government spent $48 million and local public aren’t even allowed to use the field without the security guards saying that you are “trespassing on private property” pretty sure my taxes as well as everybody else is paid for that $48 million so we should be able to use the field as we please. It’s an absolute outrage. There’s no students at all not a single one of them. You never see any of them. I ride the bus as I can’t afford a vehicle. University students on the bus. No vehicles coming and going from the university. Who got rich from this honestly it needs to be investigated.
Seriously? There are a million other things that seem to be more important than this “investigative journalism.”
Ah, got it. Fake degrees to pad a resume, make more money, and gain more influence just don’t work for you. But then again, you probably don’t have a degree?
Sounds like someone at CapU is butthurt over the utter disaster that is their Senior Leadership and doesn’t like anyone pointing it out.
Thanks for looking into this story. It may not seem like an important story to some but people like him are getting away with too much!
Tax payer money should have never been used to purchase Quest!
A HUGE real estate development from start to finish. Mostly funded on the taxpayers’ backs.
Glad somebody was paying attention! Falsely claiming credentials is a meaningful lie. Thats someone not operating above board… while guiding use of public funds.
prob a chinese land grab
It’s not ‘investigative journalism’, this is a legitimate story about a shyster and fraud who should be exposed for his deceit while being employed at great expense by a public institution.
This is a nothing-burger. This is not news, it’s community gossip and I’m disappointed that this publication wastes time and resources on such a story. There are more important things to report on.
The man is paid over $200k a year after misrepresenting himself, I’m sure that everyone at Cap would be interested in this.
This seems like not a big deal to be honest.
Toran, is that you posting as ‘Anon’?
Might seem like a “nothing burger” to you, but to CapU employees I’m sure it’s a poop sandwich. Don’t forget… people are getting laid off because of years of mismanagement and this case only highlights the problems even more
Totally agree with Anon. Someone should really look into why Toran “left” Quest so abruptly.
Really?
Seems about right. This “oopsie” that the VP got himself into is almost as smelly as Cap laying off workers because of the dire financial crisis the uni is in BUT keeping the 50 or so enrolled students in Squamish at the 12mil price tag. Great business!
In the words of my great gramma: I will remember you
I am a retired newspaper journalist. When I read this story this morning my heart brightened a bit at your investigative prowess because it is in the public interest. Congratulations.
Well put!
Thumbs UP
sir.
What does it take to be a VP in a public university in BC? Apparently connections, ambition, and a capacity for deception are enough in some cases.
5 years from now university leaders will proudly refer to their educational bona fides ignoring the contributions of generative ai to everything they ever produced.
We will have truly uneducated individuals directing public education.
This story reminds us of the need for a new currency to determine worthiness when it comes to populating the tops of hierarchies.
Or maybe the hierarchies shouldn’t come to such a sharp/fragile point.
Thanks for chasing this down.
What a fraud. Is he actually dating Sarah McLachlan then? Or was that also a lie? … Can he possibly be one of those lizard people hiding among us?
There should be more research into his academic ‘career’, the lies run deeper than simply his faked credentials. Ask about why he ‘left’ Quest years ago and the cover-up that made his departure possible without ramifications.
lol you sound like a bitter person, Probabaly best to stay off the internet for a bit
Congratulations on digging up some old website copy from years ago and costing a dedicated professional his job. Toran Savjord spent nearly a decade helping build programs, shape strategy, and make Capilano University better for students and the community. What exactly have you accomplished with this piece — besides forcing out someone who actually delivered results? Maybe it’s time we judge people by their real impact and contributions, not by decade-old bio typos.
Scott Fisher says,
I agree Scott fisher is a great guy.
From Scott Fisher
A list of, say, three major contributions to Capilano U’s offerings would help your case.
People don’t leave highly paid public-sector jobs (and neither are they forced to leave) over decade-old bio typos.
If there’s a typo, it gets corrected. If there fraud, the employee leaves quietly before they are fired.
Imagine how many people could have positive impacts if they could successfully misrepresent themselves to obtain leadership positions. Conversely, imagine how motivated you would be to ‘deliver results’ knowing it was just a matter of time before things caught up with you.
Bio typo? Misrepresenting oneself does not create a typographical error. The information given to the “typist” was purported to be correct. Who’s in the wrong?
Leaving quietly before being fired is exactly what happened.
Really?
Toran Savjord built real programs that helped thousands of students at CapU for nearly a decade. He resigned after this article. Congrats on destroying a career over some outdated website text. What have you actually accomplished? Time to judge people by what they built, not by old bios.
Great reporting. Keep up the good work!
UBC Alumni Center has a big LCD screen to search grad names. If someone is in the neighborhood, they can key his name see what pops up on the screen.
It doesn’t.
Excellent reporting. As a faculty member at CapU, I thank you for your diligence in exposing the web of coverups.
Toran Savjord is a dedicated educator who brings out the best in others. Skills developed over many years. Instead of shredding a person over nonsense we could congratulate him for his many contributions.
Oh really?
like tiger woods, stop putting the man in a pedestal . what tiger has accomplished as a golfer has nothing to do with his recklessness and putting others at risk. what toran savjord has done is fraud, and it’s not about what he has done. Our institutions must stand for something, like integrity, perhaps? what kind of role
model is he to the students of capu? hey students, it’s okay to submit a research paper for your studies that you’ve plagiarized or used chatgpt.
I agree Toran is a dedicated professional that has done amazing work for the institutions that hired him. He has inspired many others in their professions and has been a superb leader in the field.
Scott Fisher says,
I agree Scott fisher is a great guy.
From Scott Fisher
Impactful independent journalism uncovering dishonest misrepresentation of mission critical facts about a high profile community figure who already has a bad track record of misconduct at the former university.
Thank you for such an excellent journalistic achievement to bring about fair recourse for unethical misconduct.
So important for our kids and students to witness and for peace of mind for concerned parents such a close-knit community.
As another former CMA parent, I think this comment is the most thoughtful and concise point-of-view on this situation.
It is incredibly frustrating to see the notes above defending Toran’s actions simply because he was an ‘inspiring, dedicated professional who brought out the best in others’; the truth of the matter is he obtained his roles (and huge salary) in a deceitful and dishonest manner that negates anything he may have ‘accomplished’. It is simply not OK to blatantly lie to get ahead, he didn’t earn his place in academia and should have had no role in shaping educational policy. How can you expect people to strive to better themselves when it turns out all you need to do is be a slick-talker with no morals?
If he truly possessed the skills to be the incredible leader as claimed above, why didn’t he educate himself in order to be properly prepared for the roles he stole from actual qualified candidates?
Education (primary and onward) is a cornerstone of any society who endeavours to better life for the collective whole, it shouldn’t be treated like an unimportant chore without value.
Agreed.
I am waiting to see the level of integrity with which CMA’s board acts in light of this news.
The article and Cap U’s lack of meaningful response make it clear his resignation is not a coincidence. They could clear the air immediately if there was no deception.
I want our kids to see adults (the board of CMA) take responsibility rather than closing ranks, denying, delaying, and distracting.
Better yet, maybe Toran can do the right thing on his own. That would start any healing process fastest.
A question for any current parents, has the school sent any communication to you at all? I was hoping for a broader email to all former families, but at a minimum would hope the current community had been contacted about this upsetting situation.
It will be telling to see if the CMA board does the right thing for their students and ousts a cheat and liar or if they close ranks to protect one of the ‘boy’s club’ members.
Hope the board takes actions as well… Was considering sending my daughter, but would not go anywhere near that school if he is involved.
There is much more digging that should come of this – where there is smoke there is usually fire. It takes a complicit executive team for these situations to happen. Hope folks still on the ground and the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills are pushing for answers and accountability from all in the know.
Toran Savjord lied about his credentials, plain and simple. He holds neither a bachelor’s degree nor an MBA from UBC. Anyone can verify this by going to the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre at UBC’s main campus and entering his name into their alumni database, where ALL graduates are entered. And this database captures diplomas and degrees at UBC. He does not appear in the database at all. And this could have been verified in this manner years ago. In addition, it is not true that a Vice-President- level role does not require any degrees in a BC publicly- funded university. It doesn’t matter how well he may or may not have done his job, but he got this position under false, or fraudulent, means. It is incomprehensible that CapU did not verify his credentials at the time of hiring. Also very disappointing that neither CapU nor Toran takes any responsibility for this fraud or misinformation. There is no way this was an error on the part of a staff member uploading a bio to a website. There role is not to make-up bios, but to enter and upload approved copies that they are given,
Congrats on the Squamish Reporter for bringing this to light. I suggest you dig a lot deeper now.