Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security

Also filed as Colleges and Universities (2020–2024).

Ontario Sunshine List 2025 · 219 employees earning $100K+

Government of Ontario – Ministries

At a Glance
2025

Employee Count

219

2025 Sunshine List

Total Compensation

$29.8M

Salaries + taxable benefits

Average Salary

$135,829

2025 Sunshine List

Median Salary

$127,798

Half earn more, half less

Who makes the most at Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security in 2025?

David S-M Wai, Deputy Minister, was paid $345,271 in 2025 — the highest total compensation among 219 Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security employees on the Sunshine List; the median salary there was $127,798.

How has Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security's Sunshine List changed?

Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security listed 109 people in 2020 and 219 in 2025 — 2.0× as many; payroll on the list went from $13.4M to $29.8M, and the median salary moved from $110,686 to $127,798.

How many Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security employees earn over $150,000? →

Salary Trend

Median salary by yearLine chart of 6 yearly values of median salary, from $110,686 in 2020 to $127,798 in 2025.$100K$110K$120K$130K202020212022202320242025
Median salary, 2020–2025. Axis starts at $100,000, the Sunshine List disclosure threshold. That threshold has never been indexed to inflation, so this line can fall over time simply because more people newly cross it — not necessarily because pay fell.

Top Employees
2025

#1David S-M Wai
$345,271
Deputy Minister
#2Zoe Kroeker
$294,630
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy and Planning Division
#3Joshua Paul
$281,399
Assistant Deputy Minister, Financial Sustainability, Performance and Oversight Division
#4Jeff Butler
$265,883
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations Division
#5Jason Arandjelovic
$264,315
Chief Administrative Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Management and Services Division
#6Konrad Stypka
$240,728
Director, Financial Accountability Branch
#7Colleen Hogan
$230,118
Director, Science and Research
#8Charlotte Smaglinski
$223,940
Director, Career Colleges Branch
#9Laura Belfie
$219,221
Director, Strategic Policy Coordination Branch
#10James Brown
$216,828
Chief Executive Officer and Director, Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Branch
#11Jonathan Leigh
$215,598
Director, Communications
#12Saba Ferdinands
$210,684
Director, Student Financial Assistance Branch
#13Seetha Raja
$200,409
Director, Postsecondary Education Programs Branch
#14Samuel Andrey
$192,938
Director, Strategic Review Secretariat
#15Hilary Blain
$190,568
Director, Indigenous Education
#16Kinneret Butterfield
$189,125
Director, Postsecondary Education Policy
#17Elizabeth Hoerath
$187,840
Director, French Language Priorities
#18Cynthia Watt
$183,854
Senior Policy Advisor
#19Galen Kennedy
$178,007
Manager, Intellectual Property Unit
#20Sarah Robb
$177,991
Executive Assistant
#21Adrienne Swanson
$174,639
Manager, Research Programs
#22Hong Son Duong
$172,263
Senior Manager, Controller
#23Mirjana Lukac-Vulovic
$171,688
Manager, Research, Talent and Awards
#24Michael Aj Callaghan
$171,376
Manager, Strategic Mandate Agreements
#25Christopher Huey
$170,545
Manager, Operations and Projects Unit

See all 219 employees in 2025 →

Download CSV (2025) →Released by the Government of Ontario under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996. Compiled by SunshineList.

Biggest Year-over-Year Increases
2024 → 2025

Jason Arandjelovic at Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security had the largest increase in disclosed pay on the 2025 Sunshine List: $180,630 to $264,055, up 46.2%.

Jason Arandjelovic+46.2%
Chief Administrative Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Management and Services Division
$180,630 → $264,055
Konrad Stypka+44.3%
Director, Financial Accountability Branch
$166,680 → $240,496
Colleen Hogan+32.0%
Director, Science and Research
$174,122 → $229,874
David S-M Wai+19.2%
Deputy Minister
$281,522 → $335,605
Jeff Butler+22.1%
Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations Division
$217,592 → $265,590

A year-over-year increase or decrease in disclosed pay can include overtime, a retroactive payment, a vacation payout or severance, not only a change in base pay, rate, or role — the Sunshine List discloses total salary paid that year, not a pay rate. This list is ranked by the dollar increase, not by the percentage shown.

62 people were new to Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security's list in 2025; 29 who were on it in 2024 were not. See the full 2025 roster →

See all pay increases at Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security →

By Year
full lists

Top Positions
2025 · 5 or more people