ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – Incoming Brock University president Wendy Cukier will no longer be joining the school for the new academic year.
In a statement Monday, Brock board of trustees chair John Suk said the board and Cukier had “arrived at a mutual decision to not proceed with her appointment” as Brock’s president and vice-chancellor.
No reason was given for Cukier’s departure from the St. Catharines, Ont., school, but Suk’s statement says the decision was made during her transition into the role.
Cukier was originally selected for the job after a year-long search, and she was set to be the first female president of the school in its 51-year history.
Brock board of trustees vice-chair Gary Comerson said he could not elaborate on Cukier’s departure for confidentiality reasons, calling it a “personnel issue.”
“It is an unfortunate situation. I don’t think anyone really wanted to find ourselves in this situation,” he said.
Brock’s acting president Brian Hutchings will stay on while the school begins a new search for a president.
“We want to be sure we have the absolute correct candidate,” Comerson said.
“I think we did it very well last time, quite frankly. All the stakeholders were involved in the decision. We’re going to step back and look at if the process is going to be improved.”
Cukier previously acted as a vice-president at Ryerson University, and her appointment at Brock was announced in December 2015.
A spokesman for Ryerson says Cukier is expected to return to the school as a faculty member in the Ted Rogers School of Management.
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