Abstract
We offer here an analysis of the Dr. Robert W. Buckingham affair, the case of a senior administrator in the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan who belatedly broke ranks with his leadership peers and the administrative code of silence imposed on them, was severely punished, and then had his tenure restored after his firing went viral. This case speaks to questions of expressive freedom and academic freedom, and the position of the Canadian Association of University Teachers on how senior administrators ought to act when they disagree with what is being promoted or enforced as university policy. We include counterpoints from the perspective of the former President of the University of Alberta, Indira Samarasekera, one of the most notable yet perplexing participants in the media battle over the meaning and implications of the Buckingham affair. We conclude with lessons for post-secondary institutional governance (and resistance movements everywhere) in times of austerity-driven dismantling and reassembly.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Academic Freedom for Academic Administrators. (2010, November). CAUT Bulletin, 62(6). Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://www.caut.ca/about-us/caut-policy/lists/caut-policy-statements/policy-statement-on-academic-freedom-for-academic-administrators
Academic Impressions. www.academicimpressions.com
Alamenciak, T. (2014, May 14). University of Saskatchewan fires dean who criticized spending cuts. The Star.
Arts Squared. (n.d.).The Virtual Square. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from https://artssquared.wordpress.com/about/
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. (2011, October 25). Canada’s universities adopt new statement on academic freedom. Media Room. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://www.univcan.ca/media-room/news-and-commentary/canadas-universities-adopt-new-statement-on-academic-freedom/
Bhattacharyya, N. (2014, February). Academic prioritization—An attack on tenure. CAUT Bulletin, pp. A2, A5.
Buckingham, R. C. (2014, May 13). The silence of the deans. The Star Phoenix. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://www.thestarphoenix.com/pdf/Silence_of_the_Deans.pdf
Catano, V. & Samek, T. (2015, January 28). Report of the ad hoc investigatory committee to examine the situation of Dr. Morteza Shirkhanzadeh in the faculty of engineering &applied science at Queen’s University. Report uncovers academic freedom violations at the University of Manitoba. CAUT [Website]. Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://www.caut.ca/docs/default-source/reports/caut-ahic-report---queen’s-dr-shirkhanzadeh-engineering-applied-science-%282015-05%29.pdf?sfvrsn=0
Chivers, D. (2014, February 12). A message from the USFA Chair. Collectively Speaking. University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association.
Dickeson, R. C. (2010). Prioritizing academic programs and services: Reallocating resources to achieve a strategic balance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Dickeson, R. C. (2014). How to engage faculty in academic prioritization. Denver: Academic Impressions.
Findlay, L. M. (2014a, June). University board wrong on basics. CAUT Bulletin, 61(6). Reprinted from The Star Phoenix, June 12.
Findlay, L. M. (2014b, April 24). Manufacturing collegial consent? University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association [Website]. Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://www.usaskfaculty.ca/category/vox
Findlay, L. M. (2014c). Institutional autonomy and academic freedom in the managed university. In J. L. Turk (Ed.), Academic freedom in conflict: The struggle over free speech rights in the university (pp. 49–61). Toronto, ON: James Lorimer and Company.
Foster, K. (2013, March 28). Building capacity for TransformUS: Consultant assures program prioritization starts well. University of Saskatchewan: On Campus News, p. 9. Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://words.usask.ca/news/2013/03/28/on-campus-news-march-28-2013/
Hayden, M. (1983). Seeking a balance: The University of Saskatchewan 1905 to 1980. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press.
Heron, C. (2013, December). Robert Dickeson: Right for Ontario? An analysis of program prioritization. Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://ocufa.on.ca/assets/Dickeson-Right-for-Ontario-Craig-Heron.pdf
Horlick, L. (2007). J. Wendell Macleod: Saskatchewan’s red dean. Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Ibrahim, M. (2015, February 13). No capacity for cuts, U of A president Indira Samarasekera says. Edmonton Journal. Retrieved August 12, 2016 from http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/no-capacity-for-cuts-u-of-a-president-indira-samarasekera-says
Kane, K. (2014, September 3). Nexus: Academic freedom, administration and collegial governance at the U of A. Rhumblines: The AASUA News Bulletin. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://www.aasua.ca/publications-and-resources/rhumblines-newsbulletin/2014-september-3/
MacKinnon, P. (2014). University leadership and public policy in the twenty-first century. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Mosco, V. (2014). To the cloud: Big data in a turbulent age. Paradigm: Boulder, Co.
“President Samarasekera Offers Clarification about Academic Freedom” (2012, February 7). Rhumblines. Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://www.aasua.ca/publications-and-resources/rhumblines-newsbulletin/2012-february-7/
Richards, J. (2015a, February 14). More from IS. Whither the U of A [Website]. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://whithertheuofa.blogspot.ca/2015/02/more-from-is.html
Richards, J. (2015b, April 23). Valedictory. Whither the U of A [Website]. Retrieved September 1, 2015 From http://whithertheuofa.blogspot.ca/2015/04/valedictory.html
Sharma, S. (2012, December 14). University lacks accountability. Saskatoon Star Phoenix, p. A7.
Turk, J. L. (Ed.) (2014). Academic freedom in conflict: The struggle over free speech rights in the university. Toronto, ON: James Lorimer and Company.
Samarasekera, I. (2014, May 28). When universities make choices, deans must fall in line. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/when-universities-make-choices-deans-must-fall-in-line/article18880531/
University of Alberta president defends Ilene Busch-Vishniac: Indira Samarasekera says the former U of S president shouldn’t have been fired. (2014, May 29). CBC News . Retrieved September 1, 2015 from http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/edmonton/story/1.2657798
University of Saskatchewan Deal Ends Controversial Tenure Veto. (2014, September). CAUT Bulletin, 61(7). Retrieved September 1, 2015 from www.cautbulletin.ca/en_Article.asp?ArticleID=3890
University of Saskatchewan Council Minutes. Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://www.usask.ca/secretariat/governing-bodies/council/minutes.php
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Findlay, L., Samek, T. (2016). Assembling PeerlessU: A Canadian Makeover Comes to Grief. In: Shultz, L., Viczko, M. (eds) Assembling and Governing the Higher Education Institution. Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52261-0_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52261-0_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-52260-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-52261-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)