James Tansey: Transparency is a two-way concept with commentaries about resignation of Arvind Gupta

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      By James Tansey

      The fierce debate about the reasons behind Dr. Arvind Gupta’s departure from the role of President of UBC seems to have no end. One voice has been particularly forceful in the media and in this publication. Dr. Nassif Ghoussoub has repeatedly called for greater transparency about the reasons behind the decision, has called for the resignation of board members, and has argued that the academic freedom of Dr. Jennifer Berdahl was threatened when a speculative blog she wrote on the reasons for Dr. Gupta’s departure was questioned and criticized. That blog suggested Dr. Gupta may have lost a ‘masculinity contest’ at UBC due to his size and ethnicity.

      In the face of this call for transparency it seems a little ironic that Dr. Ghoussoub has chosen not to disclose his long friendship with Dr. Gupta in his recent articles. In an article in 2014 in the Straight, he was described as a ‘friend’ of Dr. Gupta’s. A longer interview in BC Business in 2014 described the role they both played in founding the MITACS funding agency, casting Dr. Ghoussoub as the senior partner and Dr. Gupta as the ambitious protégé who ultimately leapfrogged into the role of scientific director and CEO. His enthusiasm for his protégé is clear from one quote:

      “I declared my conflict—absolutely—but it didn’t stop me from singing his praises…Arvind is a man of vision—and this is not some poetic thing. He is visionary and pragmatic. He is a mathematician in the true sense of the word. He sees details and patterns…. He sees where things can go wrong. No one will run circles around Arvind.”

      That strong endorsement for Dr. Gupta suggests that he would have been unlikely to lose a masculinity contest and that perhaps there were other reasons for his departure.

      More importantly, the fact that he is a close friend of Dr. Gupta’s does not mean he cannot speak on the topic. But when you are asking for transparency and openness from others, it seems obvious you should apply that same standard to yourself, so that readers are aware of any biases. Instead, his tone in the articles in this publication is that of a spectator, and that is misleading.

      James Tansey is associate professor and executive director of UBC's Sauder Centre for Social Innovation and Impact Investing and acting director of UBC's University Sustainability Initiative. He's also founder and president of OCS Inc. 

      Comments

      11 Comments

      YouBeSEE

      Sep 3, 2015 at 4:59pm

      Seriously dude!? On the topic of transparency, why don't you tell us about how the BoG (or Judy Kirk) is paying you to go to bat for them? Any faculty member that cared about UBC would not be writing such blather.

      Plate Flone

      Sep 3, 2015 at 5:26pm

      Spot on, Dr.T! Hell hath no fury like a mentor scorned.

      Transparent

      Sep 3, 2015 at 7:04pm

      This is a Transparent attempt to discredit a critic of the Boards actions.

      Speaking of Transparency whats this guys relationship to the Chair and BOG? Not "friends" lol

      What has the expensive PR team got to do with this?

      UBC has a debt of $400 million+ why is there $11 million going to fund foreign students?

      This supposed to be a BC Public University the core mission ought to be local students not foreign students thats competitively stupid to educate competitor countries nationals on our dime.

      As a business owner and bc local why are we paying $11 million + this debacle by the BOG?

      Bound and gagged

      Sep 3, 2015 at 7:38pm

      So UBC has high priced communication specialists it can call on to do damage control while the former president is bound and gagged by the confidentially agreement.

      Where is the justice?

      Why shouldn't Dr. Gupta's friends and colleagues speak up and stand up for him?

      If not they don't who will?

      Well, as the public has learned those that do run the risk hurting their careers because of the culture of intimidation which by all accounts may be running rife on campus around this issue.

      I am ashamed that my unversity could chew up someone so promising and throw them out like a swifter duster.

      James Blatchford

      Sep 3, 2015 at 7:59pm

      Ahem...I trust you are a spectator yourself Professor? Please declare for the record. Thanks.

      Ploot Flan

      Sep 3, 2015 at 10:00pm

      @Youbesee - yes JT he must be being paid to write something you disagree with. It's the only explanation.

      B-school BS

      Sep 3, 2015 at 10:14pm

      How much is the BoG paying you to write this, Tansey?

      Careful, Jim

      Sep 4, 2015 at 12:21am

      You might not want to upset Arvind's BFF. The next you thing you'll know, you'll find yourself the villain in a ridiculous story in the Globe and Mail by Gary Mason.

      O'Brien

      Sep 4, 2015 at 11:55am

      "A Straw Man and a Red Herring were begging the question in a bar... "

      Enough Already About Ghousoub and Gupta

      Sep 5, 2015 at 12:23am

      No need to write this sort of piece. Ghousoub has undermined his own credibility. One letter showed support for his good friend - an admirable thing to do - and it made me think there was more to Gupta's departure. Several letters, blogs, interviews ... he's now coming across as being an attention-seeker. Between implying his academic colleagues are cowards for not speaking out about Gupta in the Ubyssey interview (perhaps most don't agree, or don't really care) and throwing around meaningless stats about the number of staff at the Vancouver campus, he has shot himself in the foot. He's become UBC's own version of a Kardashian - stop paying attention, and hopefully he'll just go away.