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N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Senate has rejected a proposal to buy out the contract of University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani, who has been on the job for less than a year.

Republican Sen. Tony Grindberg of Fargo offered a floor amendment Tuesday to the higher education funding bill to buy out the final two years of Shirvani’s three-year contract, at a cost of about $854,000. Grindberg has questioned Shirvani’s leadership style.

Shirvani has been in charge of the university system since last July. His contract runs through June 2015. He is paid $349,000 annually.