SASKATOON – The University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association (USFA) says there continues to be a leadership crisis at the university and is questioning why there hasn’t been a further review into the firing of Robert Buckingham on May 14.
The USFA called the lack of action astounding in a letter posted on its website.
Buckingham was fired from his tenured position after publicly criticising TransformUS, which was meant to help bring down the university’s operating budget.
His dismissal made headlines across the country and lead to the termination of U of S president Ilene Busch-Vishniac and the resignation of provost Brett Fairbairn.
The association says there are still lots of questions to be answered over the firing of Buckingham.
The letter states “Pervasive contradictions have been swirling around leadership and the University of Saskatchewan and there are more questions than answers.”
“We are as perplexed as the public by recent developments and have a host of questions.”
Chief among those is who was present when the decision was made to strip Buckingham’s tenure and whether external legal advice was sought.
The association, which represents over 1,000 academic staff, also wants to know if non-academic people are making tenure decisions.
So far, acting president Gordon Barnhart has not responded to the letter.
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