Kanchi Uttamchandani | Assistant News Editor
Featured image: The search committee is suspected to be secretive regarding its consultative process of selecting a new president. | Courtesy of York Media
The Presidential Search Committee remains the talk of the town. This time, York professors are lashing out at the Board of Governors, York’s top decision-making body.
The Presidential Search Committee will make a recommendation to the Board, who will then vote to appoint York’s next president.
In an open letter, English professor Agnes Whitfield claimed that private sector interests dominate the current Board. She alleged that this has both demoralized full- and part-time faculty and caused the enrolment crisis, as well as what she described as general academic disarray.
“The present Board does not have the legitimacy to undertake, let alone control, the present presidential search process,” said Whitfield.
According to Whitfield, the Board plays an essential function in ensuring the public accountability of a university. It’s responsible for overseeing the financial health of the institution, approves settlements in collective bargaining and supervises procurement practices, among other functions.
“It is imperative that the Board of Governors represents a broad cross-section of citizens and can bring to the university a rich and diverse perspective.” She alleges the current Board is not representative as per York’s own by-laws.
Meanwhile, the York University Graduate Students’ Association, or YUGSA, is calling on the Board to block Provost Rhonda Lenton from being ratified as York’s next president, should the committee recommend her. They demand the current search committee to reopen its search for shortlisted candidates with significantly higher community input.
According to The Globe and Mail, the York University Faculty Association conducted a poll that showed that 58 per cent of respondents would not support the appointment of Lenton.
“The Presidential Search Committee appreciates the importance of this decision as it impacts the future of our university. That is why the Committee has taken every effort to ensure we gather feedback and consult with York’s diverse community,” says Rick Waugh, chair of the Search Committee. Waugh is also the current chair of the Board of Governors, and sits on the Board of the York University Development Corporation and the University Senate.
“I can share that the process is well underway and, at the moment, no decision has been made. Interested candidates submitted their applications in confidence and it is important that I preserve the integrity of this process,” he says.
Waugh adds the Committee’s decision must adhere to the Principles Governing the Search Committee and these principles, established in 2005, clearly lay out a transparent, consultative and fair process for the selection of the new president.
“Inevitably, times of change can create a feeling of uncertainty. York has a bright future and is on track to be both financially sustainable and a progressive, vibrant learning and research institution,” says Waugh.
Despite York’s assurances, YUGSA says the Board’s corporate composition is at odds with the university’s commitment to social justice and is so removed from academic processes that it should not be picking the next president.
Current president Mamdouh Shoukri is leaving in 2017.
