Next week, the UBC board will take a look at some of its governance policies, including which meetings should be open to the public and which should be closed.
The board has been criticized for having secret meetings with little or no documentation, particularly as revealed in documents about the departure of former president Arvind Gupta just one year into a five-year term. The documents show what appeared to be a small group of board members meeting with Gupta to criticize his leadership. Gupta has said that in one of those meetings he was told the board had lost confidence in him, and that he then decided to resign.
Earlier this week, the university’s faculty association voted to express non-confidence in the board. Others have called for an external governance review and an investigation into the reasons why Gupta’s presidency failed.
At its April 4 meeting, the board’s governance committee will take a look at its policies, in a bid to show its commitment to accountability, a meeting agenda shows.
“The board of governors … is committed to the principle of accountability to the students, faculty and staff of The University of British Columbia … and to the public which is
served by the university,” the agenda item says. “It is the intent of the board to demonstrate this commitment by conducting its public business at meetings which are open to the public. However, certain matters are of a confidential nature and should be handled with due and appropriate sensitivity.”
The committee is tasked with adding criteria for which meetings should be open and which should be closed, as well as timelines for notifying the public about meeting times and minutes to the policy about meeting rules.
tsherlock@vancouversun.com
Filed under: B.C. Education Report, Education, News, STAFF Tagged: Arvind Gupta, education, University of British Columbia Image may be NSFW.
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