I am pleased to provide a further update on the Presidential search process.
Following publication of the position profile for the 15th President and Vice-Chancellor of UBC (http://bog.ubc.ca/?page_id=11433), our consultant Perrett Laver has contacted potential candidates and, as expected, there is significant interest in the position from a large group of highly qualified individuals.
UBC is committed to a proactive approach to the preservation and advancement of academic freedom. The university is seeking to appoint a Senior Advisor on academic freedom to lead a system-wide conversation concerning the scope of academic freedom, and to develop materials to educate the university community concerning the need to support and protect academic freedom.
We, the eight elected members of the UBC Board of Governors (students, staff, and faculty) voted to accept the resignation of Dr. Arvind Gupta as President of UBC. We did so after respectful deliberation among all Board members and based on our own observations. None of us was bullied or pressured. We continue to believe that this decision was in the best interests of the university.
The UBC Board of Governors has approved the reappointment of Dr. Louise Cowin as Vice-President, Students for a second term for five years, starting October 1, 2016
In December 2015, barrister and solicitor Paula Butler, of Butler Workplace Solutions, an independent expert in workplace harassment, was retained by the university to review UBC’s response to concerns of sexual harassment and sexual assault raised by UBC students regarding a fellow student.
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