Until today, the elected members of UBC's board of governors have been silent about a controversy that has continued since last August.

But today, representatives of faculty, students, and staff on the board issued a statement regarding the resignation of former president Arvind Gupta.

The provincial government appoints a majority on the 21-member UBC board of governors.

The elected governors' letter was sent to faculty, staff, and students at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.

We, the eight elected members of the UBC Board of Governors (students, staff, and faculty) voted to accept the resignation of Dr. Arvind Gupta as President of UBC. We did so after respectful deliberation among all Board members and based on our own observations. None of us was bullied or pressured. We continue to believe that this decision was in the best interests of the university.

The Executive Committee of the Board, which was involved in earlier stages of the process leading to Dr. Gupta’s resignation, included two of the elected faculty members, Richard Johnston and Michael Treschow.

We regret that we did not make this statement earlier. We see now that we were excessively cautious. The events of the last few weeks compel us to speak out.

We are listening carefully to the concerns raised within the university community, and are committed to seeking greater transparency in Board practices.

Shannon Dunn (staff)

Darran Fernandez (staff)

Veronica Knott (student)

Jeff Krupa (student)

Richard Johnston (faculty)

Darrin Lehman (faculty)

Michael Treschow (faculty)

Julian van de Valk (student)