‘If I had stayed… maybe some things wouldn’t have come to pass’: former UBC president

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – We’re finally hearing from UBC’s former president, after months of turmoil surrounding his abrupt resignation last year.

It’s in response to hundreds of pages of documents that ended up going public.

Those documents give a one-sided representation of what transpired in the months before his stepped down, according to Arvind Gupta.

He says he regrets the move, adding he felt there was no choice after finding he didn’t have full support of the board of governors.

“I couldn’t anticipate what would happen at the university since then… and I’ve often thought, that if I had stayed, pushed back harder on the board, maybe some of the things that transpired since then wouldn’t have come to pass.”

Gupta says he’s talked about building a modern, 21st century university. “And I still believe this in my heart. I believe that the wonderful scholars we have at UBC… I’d really like to work with them to continue to develop that vision.”

The documents describe Gupta’s first year as president as “unsettled.” They argue he was too quick to become confrontational or dismissive, and needed to work on creating an environment of trust.

Gupta had only finished one year of his five year term when he stepped down in August.

STATEMENT: DR ARVIND GUPTA

Today UBC released a number of documents related to my resignation as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia. As a result, I am compelled to comment on the documents, their content, tone and the accuracy of what they portray.

What was published is a one-sided representation of what transpired in the months prior to my resignation.

I have spent my entire working life trying to make this country and province better. The chance to be UBC’s President was an exciting opportunity to build a 21^st century university, one that is better connected to the community, and the bigger world beyond the campus. This modern version of our largest university is essential to making BC into an even better society.

As President, I made a commitment to the people of British Columbia, the Board, the students and the faculty that we would move UBC to become one of the top universities in the world.

That goal meant substantial change including a rethinking of priorities and refocusing on the academic mission. And change can make some people uneasy. If it didn’t, it would be called the status quo. So, it is no surprise that not everyone at the university embraced this vision and the required actions.

That said, the assertions in the released documents, were not based on facts or evidence given to me at any time.

Still, I attempted to work in a collegial manner which is the hallmark of every well-governed university. Unfortunately there was never any formal review of my performance, or outreach by the Board to the broader university community. This would have allowed both the UBC Board and myself to assess my first year accomplishments and the scope of the work ahead.

This past summer it became clear to me that I did not have the support of the full Board and, as such, felt I had no other option but to resign in the best interest of the university. It is my sincerest hope that I, with leading UBC scholars, will carry on this important work on behalf of UBC, British Columbia, and Canada.