For the most part, what happens on a university and college campus when it comes to administration controversies (as opposed to, say, campus safety) is usually of interest only to those who attend or work at that particular campus.
The academic world is very inward looking, and the general public gives it a pass most of the time. The reverse is true for many of those who live in that academic world, however.
What happens in that insulated world can seem to be of high importance, to the point of being inflated beyond reality.
Which brings us to the mysterious case of Arvind Gupta, who resigned unexpectedly as the president of the University of British Columbia, just one year into what was supposed to be a five-year term. Rather than being confined to the leafy campus, though, the controversy has generated widespread media coverage.
His abrupt departure — for reasons unknown, which is at the heart of this controversy — has touched off a chain reaction of outrage among some parts of the UBC community, unfounded suggestions of racism somehow being behind this whole drama, accusations that academic freedom is under siege, and dire warnings that the university’s entire reputation is now somehow perilously close to going down the toilet.
Well. High drama, indeed.
With no official explanation being offered regarding Gupta’s resignation, rumours and anonymous allegations have filled the information vacuum.
Gupta alienated people. He bruised some egos. Dismissed some staff. Didn’t consult with the board of governors. Or so goes the rumor mill. His supporters paint a completely different picture, though.
It is often said that the internal politics on a university or college campus make other levels of politics (ie. provincial and federal) look like genial tea parties by comparison, such is the viciousness that can occur.
And UBC , like many other schools, has a history of some rather explosive controversies. In the mid-1990s, the political science department found itself facing accusations of sexism and racism, and a subsequent investigation’s conclusions (that accepted all kinds of untested and unproven allegations) was denounced by many.
As well, according to a 2012 investigation by the campus paper ,The Ubyssey, more than a dozen complaints against UBC have been filed to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal by various students and professors, with most dealing with gender equity issues.
A large university like UBC, with its sizeable and highly respected community of professors and researchers, can understandably have a highly-charged and competitive atmosphere.
Throw in never-ending funding issues and things can become volatile.
I’m not sure that explains the soap opera that is currently running on the campus stage, and that threatens to become a much bigger show once thousands of students return to school next week.
Certainly, on social media, some professors are alleging far bigger troubles than simply the resignation of the university president.
The school would no doubt love to get this whole episode behind it, but it appears a critical error was made during the resignation process that may prove to be an unsurpassable obstacle.
Gupta and the university signed mutual non-disclosure agreements that covered his departure. These are legally-binding contracts, which can’t simply be torn up or ignored.
Unless someone on the board, or Gupta himself, finds a way around those non-disclosure agreements and spills the beans (which seems unlikely) then the mystery will remain a mystery.
But there is, of course, one possible solution: Gupta and the board both agree to waive those non-disclosure deals. If both parties agree to shine a light on this affair, it can be done.
If the threat to the university’s integrity is indeed so great because of this mess (and I think that threat is a tad over-stated) it can be argued it is incumbent on both parties to this murky deal to step up and drop the veil of secrecy.
School’s almost in folks. Time to get on with it.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. He can be reached via email at Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca.
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